Russian President Vladimir Putin has stressed the importance of steady supplies to the military and a robust defense sector in ensuring the nation’s security. Russia can only rely on its own resources, he added.
Speaking to journalist Pavel Zarubin, Putin addressed the importance of the effective and sustainable management of the defense sector by the Defense Ministry. Everything, including soldiers’ pay and new equipment orders, depends on it, the president said, adding, “it is very important. It is the basis.”
“We can only rely on ourselves in this regard,” Putin told Zarubin. “No one will come to us with open hands and just donate anything. We can only do it on our own. And we are succeeding.”
In late May, Putin insisted that “every ruble” spent on the armed forces should be used effectively. Funding should not only provide for the needs of the military, but “fit in” with the national economy as well, he stated.
Russia has ramped up its defense industry amid the conflict with Ukraine. In May, the head of defense conglomerate Rostec, Sergey Chemezov, said the production of self-propelled artillery pieces increased tenfold, and production of towed guns grew by 14 times.
The output of ammunition rounds for tanks and infantry fighting vehicles increased by 900%, artillery shells by 600%, and munitions for MLRS by 800%, according to Chemezov, whose corporation supplies around 80% of the arms used by the Russian military in the conflict.
Russia’s defense industry capabilities have sparked concerns among Kiev’s Western backers. Ukraine mostly relies on foreign military aid in the conflict with Moscow. In February, The Guardian reported that the growth of Russia’s defense industry production was much higher than many Western defense planners expected.
“We still haven’t seen where Russia’s breaking point is,” Mark Riisik, the deputy director in the policy planning department of Estonia’s Defense Ministry, told the news outlet.
In March, CNN reported that Russia was about to produce three times more artillery shells than the US and EU combined. The US military set a goal to produce 100,000 artillery rounds per month by the end of 2025, the broadcaster said at the time, adding that it was “less than half of the Russian monthly output.”
Moscow has warned that supplies of Western weapons to Ukraine will only prolong the conflict without changing the outcome. According to Germany’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which tracks Western financial and military aid to Kiev, Washington and its allies have already spent tens of billions of dollars on weapons for Ukraine.
The US leads the list of Kiev’s biggest donors with €50.4 billion ($53.89 billion) spent on weapons. Germany and the UK come second and third with €10.2 billion and €8.8 billion respectively.
Russia has been on the offensive in recent months, making steady gains in Donbass and launching a new operation in Kharkov Region in May.