What the war actually costs Russia — shown plainly, with the arithmetic and a source behind every number. Sanctions pressure began in 2014; the bill ran into the tens of trillions from the 2022 full-scale invasion.
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₽57tn $676bn
Direct war spending, 2022 – mid-2026
That's like Enough to fully fund the country's entire health AND education for about 15 years.
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₽36bn/day $0.43bn
What the war costs every single day
That's like Each day equals a month of pensions for ~1.3 million pensioners — or ~180,000 m² of new housing.
The math: ₽57tn ÷ ~1,587 days (24 Feb 2022 – 30 Jun 2026) ≈ ₽36bn; ÷ ₽27,224 (avg. old-age pension, SFR, Jul 2026) ≈ 1.3m; ÷ ~₽200k/m² (avg. new-build price, CIAN) ≈ 180k m² ·
Janis Kluge (SWP) · SFR · CIAN 👤
₽390k $4.6k
The war's price per resident
That's like Split equally, that is ~3.4 average monthly salaries for every person — or about 3 extra months of pension every year since 2022.
The math: ₽57tn ÷ 146.1m people ≈ ₽390k; ÷ ₽114,743 (avg. wage, Jun 2026) ≈ 3.4; per year: ₽390k ÷ 4.35 yrs ≈ ₽90k ≈ 3.3 × ₽27,224 pension ·
Rosstat · SFR · Janis Kluge (SWP) 🏗️
~285m m²
What the same money could have built
That's like At average new-build prices that is ~285 million m² of housing — about 2 m² for every resident of the country.
The math: ₽57tn ÷ ~₽200k/m² (CIAN, Jan 2026: ₽204k) ≈ 285m m²; ÷ 146.1m people ≈ 2 m² each. Rough: price range ₽185–205k/m² depending on source ·
CIAN · Janis Kluge (SWP) 🪖
₽10.7tn $123bn
War spending in just H1 2026 (a record)
That's like In early 2026 nearly every SECOND ruble of the budget went to the war.
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1.5× more
Defence vs people, 2026
That's like The fourth year running, Russia spends ~1.5× more on the war than on ALL of its people (health, education, pensions-support, social).
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~$300bn
Frozen reserves, since 2022
That's like About HALF of the pre-war currency reserves — frozen and out of reach.
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−95%
The lost EU gas market
That's like Gazprom now pumps gas with nowhere to go: ~60 bcm a year go unsold, and the company posted its first loss in decades.
The math: Pipeline gas to the EU: ~150 bcm (2021) → ~8 bcm (H1 2025) ·
The Moscow Times 🏦
₽3.9tn/yr
Debt servicing now
That's like Interest on the debt alone costs more than health and education combined — and the pace is overheating (H1 already burned 45% of the annual plan).
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₽1.08tn −$13bn
Gazprom's collapse
That's like The budget's old cash cow is now loss-making for the first time in ~25 years — over $20bn lost across two years.
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~650–800k
The people who left
That's like Hundreds of thousands left since 2022 — disproportionately IT workers and researchers — and fewer than 8% have come back.
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$588bn
What it costs to rebuild Ukraine
That's like Ten-year recovery needs; direct damage by end-2025 is $195bn (and Jan–Feb 2026 is not yet counted). Not a court ruling on reparations — a joint expert estimate, i.e. a yardstick for what the bill could be if Russia alone paid.
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$4.0k ≈ ₽345k
The same bill, per Russian resident
That's like If Russia alone paid the full recovery estimate, that is about what it has already spent on the war per person. Direct damage alone would be ~$1.3k each.
spent on war4.63
rebuild bill4.02
The math: $588bn ÷ 146.1m ≈ $4,024 (≈ ₽345k at ~₽85.7/$, CBR); direct damage only: $195.1bn ÷ 146.1m ≈ $1,335 (≈ ₽114k); war spending per person: $676bn ÷ 146.1m ≈ $4.6k ·
World Bank (RDNA5) · Rosstat · CBR