Russian President Vladimir Putin's spending on personal security has skyrocketed this year, as the Kremlin ramps up measures to ensure the Russian leader's safety amid his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to government data.
Data provided by Russia's Ministry of Finance shows that between January and May this year, Russian spending on the safety and security of Putin and his staff reached 15 billion rubles ($185,700 million), which is 77 percent of the annual budget allocation, and up 15 percent from the same time frame last year, the Moscow Times reported. The online publication found that the figure is higher than government spending on Russian military and border protection.
Spending on the Russian leader's security is on the rise as drone strikes inside Russian territory increase in intensity amid the full-scale invasion that he launched in February 2022.
On May 3, two drones crashed into the Kremlin in Moscow. More recently, on Tuesday morning, Russia blamed Ukraine for a large-scale drone attack on Moscow. At least eight drones caused minor damage, it said. Ukraine has denied that it was responsible for the attacks.
Putin also appears to not be taking chances with a potential arrest, according to Verstka, an independent Russian news outlet that was founded shortly after the conflict began. It reported that the leader has remained put in Russia in the two and half months since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued him an arrest, accusing him of committing war crimes—the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia—in his full-scale invasion.
It is unclear whether Putin will ever be held fully accountable for overseeing the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children. However, should he enter the territory of the ICC's member states, they are legally obliged to carry out the arrest warrants on Putin and Russia's presidential commissioner for children's rights, Maria Lvova-Belova.
All ICC states—including every member of the European Union, most African states, all Latin and South American states except Cuba and Nicaragua, and even Tajikistan—are legally required to arrest Putin if he ever steps foot on their territory.
Verstka cited a senior source in the Russian parliament on Wednesday as saying that if Putin does not go to India for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), an eight-member security bloc that includes Russia and China, "then it's because of the warrant."
India's external affairs ministry said on Tuesday that the summit would be held in a virtual format in July.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry via email for comment.
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About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more
