Putin approves record military budget for 2025 amid ongoing Ukraine conflict

Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a record military budget for 2025, allocating 13.5 trillion rubles, or 32.5% of the budget, to national defense. This is an increase from 28.3% in the current year. The decision follows recent approvals from both houses of the Russian parliament. The increased spending reflects ongoing efforts in the war against Ukraine, which began in February 2022. 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 the destruction of 32 out of 78 Russian drones launched overnight.