Ukraine spent US$64.7bn on war in 2024, Russia more than twice as much

Ukraine’s military spending in 2024 increased by 2.9% compared to 2023 and reached US$64.7 billion. This is equivalent to 43% of Russia’s military spending and 54% of Ukraine’s total government expenditure. 

Source: a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)

Quote: "Ukraine had by far the highest military burden in the world: its military spending as a share of GDP was 34% in 2024, down from 37% in 2023. All Ukraine’s tax revenues were fully absorbed by its military spending in 2024, while all non-military socio-economic spending was funded by foreign aid."

Details: The SIPRI report states that last year Ukraine received at least US$60 billion in military financial aid, mainly from the United States, as well as from Germany and other European countries.

Quote: "SIPRI includes military aid in the spending estimate of the donor country and not the beneficiary country, which means that this US$60 billion is not included in the total for Ukraine. If it were included, Ukraine’s military spending would have totalled US$125 billion in 2024, which would have made it the fourth biggest spender in the world." 

Details: The report also notes that according to the original budget for 2024, Ukraine planned to allocate 74% of the military budget to personnel payments and 23% to the purchase and repair of military equipment.

"In late July 2024 the budget was amended to boost military spending by nearly US$13.5 billion, with more than half of the additional amount aimed at increasing funding for salaries and support for the families of deceased or injured soldiers," the report says.

Meanwhile, the SIPRI report states that Russia’s military spending at the end of last year reached US$149 billion. Compared to 2023, this figure increased by 38%. In 2024, Russia’s military expenditure amounted to 7.1% of the country’s GDP.

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