Russia and Belarus to increase expenditure on joint military facilities
The Union State of Russia and Belarus plans to spend nearly 500 million rubles ($8.53 million USD) on military, border and information security, RBC news agency report citing the Union State Parliamentary Assembly press liaison, Andrei Shakhorsky. The relevant new programs are included in the Union State’s budget for 2018, which was adopted by the Union State Parliamentary Assembly on December 16.
The session with parliamentarians of both countries was chaired by State Duma spokesperson Vyacheslav Volodin in Bryansk. According to the budget for 2018, 6.93 billion rubles ($120 million USD) of revenue is planned, with an approved expenditure portion of 4.88 billion rubles ($80 million USD).
The document includes four new programs: the improvement of the Union State’s border security, military infrastructure facilities planned for joint usage in the interests of providing a regional group of forces, systems to protect information resources under conditions of “growing threats in the information sphere”, as well as the development of innovative technologies to produce biosafe combined feed for valuable breeds of fish and animals.
528 million rubles ($9 million USD) have been reserved for these programs in 2018, Shakhorsky observed. According to the draft program available on the official website of the Standing Committee of the Union State, 1.2 billion rubles ($20 million USD) will be spent on military infrastructure over four years, of which 780 million ($13.31 million USD) will be provided by Russia. An estimated 262 million rubles ($447 million USD) will be spent on the four year combined feed program, which works out to roughly 65 million rubles ($1.11 million USD) per year.
According to the program description, there are plans to improve the condition of the air force and anti-air defense control points, the three airports and the radio navigation unit, the technical characteristics of the artillery and engineering ammunition bases, three rear bases for deploying and storing weapon reserves and ammunition, as well as two logistics bases.