Russian military personnel costs hit record high, on track to account for roughly 9.5% of all planned federal government spending in 2025

>Between January and June, federal and regional budgets allocated an estimated 400 billion rubles ($5.14 billion) for enlistment bonuses, 865 billion rubles ($11.11 billion) for military salaries and 765 billion rubles ($9.82 billion) in payments to families of the dead and wounded.

spending almost 6% of your federal budget on enlistment bonuses and payments to families of the dead and wounded alone is insane

further proves that the casualty increase noted by Rubio ( 100,000 dead Russian soldiers since January 2025. Dead, not wounded, dead), and by The Economist is real

**the downside for Ukraine is that Russian equipment losses are much lower this summer than before**

**from 100 confirmed tank losses per month in the past to less than 30 in June, armored vehicle losses also halved compared to Jan-April average**

Per ISW, Russia switched their strategy in **favor of using more disposable infantry and less armored vehicles, preserving those for future offensives a**nd hoping to wear down Ukraine’s manpower this way,