Russian war spending keeps rising while some regions slash death benefits for soldiers’ families by up to 95%

In the fifth year of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia is spending more on its military and looking for new ways to fund the war. In recent months, however, several Russian regions have sharply cut payments to the families of those killed in the war. Here are a few examples.At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.