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Russia may have spent 1.1 billion euros on air strike

Russia may have spent 1.1 billion euros on air strike

The impact of the air strikes on Ukraine
Libkos/Getty Images

Russia launched a $1.3 billion airstrike on Ukraine this week.

Hundreds of drones and missiles were used in the attack, including Shahed strike drones and ballistic missiles.

Due to high government spending on the war in Ukraine, inflation in Russia has skyrocketed.

This is a machine translation of an article from our US colleagues at Business Insider. It was automatically translated and reviewed by a real editor.

On August 26, Russia launched a massive air strike on Ukraine, using a series of missiles and drones that, according to calculations by the Ukrainian newspaper Ekonomichna Pravda (EP), cost a total of $1.26 billion (€1.14 billion).

The Air Force said on Telegram that it detected 127 missiles and 109 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during the attack, which targeted Russian energy infrastructure. It added that it shot down 102 of the missiles and 99 of the UAVs.

The ammunition used included Kinzhal and Iskander ballistic missiles, Kalibr and Kh-101 cruise missiles and Shahed combat drones, the Air Force said.

Russia fired 77 Kh-101 missiles, which accounted for the bulk of the expenditure, with an estimated cost of ten to 13 million dollars (nine to 11.7 million euros) each.

According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies Missile Defense Project, the Kh-101 is a “stealth missile” with a conventional warhead designed to “overcome air defense systems by flying at lower, terrain-friendly altitudes to evade radar systems.”

The attack on Ukraine came amid soaring inflation and warnings of an overheating Russian economy.

While Russia's high defense spending on the war in Ukraine initially boosted economic growth and allayed fears of an impending recession linked to Western sanctions, it has now led to runaway inflation, reaching 9.1 percent in July.

The central bank raised its key interest rate to 18 percent in July and said inflation had “accelerated” and was “significantly” above its April forecast.

Russia's economic growth slowed to 4 percent in the second quarter of 2024, from 5.4 percent in the first quarter, AFP reported in August, citing official data.

Maximilian Hess, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, told BI that Putin is prepared to put the entire Russian economy behind this war. And that there are no signs that this will change: “There is no real resistance to this within the Russian elite, so this will not change.”

However, Hess said that at this level of spending, Russia would eventually have to make significant budget shifts or cuts in other areas as inflation “spreads out of control.”

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