Russia Not to Get Dragged into Military Spending Race with US

"When the Americans beefed up their already-not-so-meager spending on the military and the defense industry, many expected that we would mirror that step," Bondarev, who is the former commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces, told TASS.

However, this did not happen because first, the funds allocated for ensuring national defense and security will be enough, and Russia’s authorities are not going to militarize the economy and industry, he noted.

"And second, we are developing and enhancing our beloved nation’s defense and industry complex, the army and the fleet not due to the prevailing circumstances, but well ahead of time," the legislator emphasized. "The current level of financing the needs of the defense and security enables us to effectively counter any threat."

The senator assured that the risk of toughening Western sanctions was taken into account when the nation’s military spending was planned. "We have become accustomed to sanctions. We have become immune to them and adapted our economy to this new regime," Bondarev said.

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