Putin approves record military budget for 2025 amid ongoing Ukraine conflict

Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a record military budget for 2025, allocating 32.5% of the budget, or 13.5 trillion rubles (over $145 billion), for national defense. This is an increase from 28.3% in the current year. The budget plans were recently approved by both houses of the Russian parliament. This move comes as Russia continues its military efforts in Ukraine, where it has been gradually pushing back Ukrainian forces in the east. In recent violence, a Russian drone strike in Kherson killed three people, while a missile attack in Dnipro resulted in four deaths and 24 injuries. Ukraine reported that it shot down 32 out of 78 Russian drones launched overnight.