MOSCOW — Russia plans to sharply increase defence spending, cut funding for education and raise taxes next year as costs mount in its war with Ukraine, draft budget documents show.

The budget comes as the Ukraine war grinds through its fifth year, with both sides intensifying long-range strikes and Moscow pummelling Kyiv in daily air attacks.

Here’s what we know about the plans, which have been submitted to Russia’s lower house of parliament for approval:

The government plans to spend a record 17.1 trillion rubles (US$204 billion; RM833.1 billion) on defence in 2027, around 26 per cent higher than last year’s forecast for 2027, according to the draft budget.

Defence spending will account for more than a third of all outlays and will be higher than spending earmarked for healthcare, education and social welfare combined, the documents show.

While the documents forecast defence spending will decrease in 2028 and 2029, Russia has repeatedly overshot long-term defence spending forecasts since launching its Ukraine offensive.

Actual spending on defence is classified and could rise even further, said Alexander Kolyandr, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis.

“The published totals are merely an opening bid in the negotiation between the finance ministry and the security establishment,” he said in an article last week.