Russia spends around 8% of its GDP on the military.

Omissions

• The claim does not specify a reference year. The most recent SIPRI data available at the time of the speech (session date 2026-05-19) was for 2025, published in April 2026, showing 7.5% of GDP — not 8%.
• The claim omits the upward trajectory: Russia's military burden has risen sharply from 3.6% of GDP in 2021 to 7.1% in 2024 and 7.5% in 2025, driven by the war in Ukraine. This context would strengthen rather than weaken the speaker's argument.

Sources

• PrimarySIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute)Russia increased its military spending by 5.9 per cent in 2025 to an estimated $190 billion, or 7.5 per cent of its GDP.
• PrimarySIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute)Russia's military spending grew by 38 per cent in 2024 to an estimated $149 billion, equivalent to 7.1 per cent of Russia's GDP.