Russia to allocate 250 bln USD for defense in 2013-2015

Russia would spend 7.7 trillion rubles (some 250 billion U.S. dollars) for national defense in the next three years, a high-ranking member of the State Duma said Wednesday. By 2020 some 645 billion dollars would be used to develop and procure modern weapons, said Vladimir Komoyedov, head of the Defense Committee of the State Duma. "The huge fund should be effectively used for equipping the army and navy with the latest technology," he added. Compared with this year's 61 billion dollars, the planned national defense spending would reach 68 billion dollars in 2013, 81 billion dollars in 2014 and more than 100 billion dollars in 2015, he said. Meanwhile, he added that Russia would spend over 935 million dollars in 2013 for upgrading its nuclear arsenal, marking a 6-percent increase from this year. Among the enormous efforts to modernize its potential, Russia plans to commission eight fourth-generation strategic nuclear submarines by 2020, which are expected to carry the newest Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles. President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly urged the Russian military to increase the country's defense capability amid the "growing use of force in international affairs."