The explosion in defence spending illustrates Moscow's determination to continue its assault on Ukraine despite the significant human and economic cost.
  • @Moonrise2473@feddit.itEnglish
    15•1 year ago

    Imagine what could have achieved Russia if instead of wasting all those billions on insisting to expanding their territory with barren lands.

    They could have built some high speed train network that linked the Pacific ocean to the Atlantic ocean. They could even got additional billions from China having a rail network that could send Chinese goods to Europe in days instead of months, rendering ocean freight obsolete

    Without all the embargoes (yes, by giving back Crimea too), they could have accessed to higher tech and collaborating with other countries to create tech hubs and chip fabs.

    Building cities where people want to live and not dream to move abroad one day

    But no, it’s better to waste those billions to build weapons and letting their youth die on a senseless cause.

    They accumulated an insane wealth over the decades selling the fossil fuels and then is going to be wasted all on the military complex instead of improving the country to a next level

    • @Immersive_Matthew@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      5•1 year ago

      This describes every country that spends money on violence. We will never learn as there is always someone who will arm up and justify the rest from doing the same.

      • @mea_rah@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4•1 year ago

        To be fair, you’re posting messages here using protocol, that was used for military purposes. (The TCP/IP used to be called DoD protocol back then) So it’s not like the money is completely wasted if you’re smart about it.

        Building good road/rail infrastructure to enable the ability to respond to military threats within the country would also benefit the general population.

        Throwing nearly half a million of your productive generation men into a meat grinder in an offensive war certainly isn’t one of those smart investments.

    • @AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3•1 year ago

      Imagine what could have achieved Russia if instead of wasting all those billions on insisting to expanding their territory with barren lands.

      That was mostly done with prisoner labour. So it was quite cheap relatively speaking. Most of it was still quite useless though. Grabbing land for the sake of grabbing land (a common Russian theme). Not to mention the mismanaged projects that led nowhere.

  • AutoTL;DRBEnglish
    6•1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Moscow has already spent tens of billions of dollars on ammunition, missiles, tanks, drones, equipment and soldiers’ salaries since it sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

    Before the vote on Thursday, finance minister Anton Siluanov told lawmakers the proposed budget was “aimed at today’s main task – ensuring our victory.”

    “The war has become existential for the Russian economy because a big part of demand is now spread through the expanded military-industrial sector,” Alexandra Prokopenko, a former adviser at Russia’s central bank, told AFP.

    Despite Western sanctions, Russia has continued to earn huge sums of revenue through its vital oil and gas exports, which it has reorientated away from Europe to the likes of China and India.

    But the ruble’s volatility has stoked inflation at home and the central bank has hiked interest rates to 13 per cent in a bid to cool rapid price rises.

    Russia has swung to a budget deficit since it launched its military offensive in Ukraine, forcing the finance ministry to increase borrowing from state banks and sell some foreign currency reserves.

    The original article contains 602 words, the summary contains 178 words. Saved 70%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!