Putin announced problems with the state’s defense order due to the lack of employees

Russian defense plants are struggling with a shortage of qualified workers, which makes it difficult to implement the state defense contract, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.

“Now many enterprises work practically in three shifts and there is a shortage of specialists, especially highly qualified ones,” Putin said during a visit to an aircraft factory in Ulan-Ude.

According to him, in order to attract workers to the military-industrial complex, where, according to official figures, more than 800,000 people are employed. Russians, an “attractive level” of salaries is needed (quotes from RIA Novosti).

In addition, the authorities are considering the possibility of introducing a deferral from the military for the defense industry. “The Ministry of Industry and Trade has prepared a corresponding list of areas of activity, needed professions and has been submitted to the Ministry of Defense,” Putin said.

After a string of setbacks in Ukraine, where according to Western sources, Russia lost half its tanks and nearly ran out of precision-guided missiles, Putin suspended the State Arms Program (SAP) in November, a basic military-industrial complex that had been in operation in recent years. Work on the new SAP for the amount of 22 trillion rubles was also suspended in order to “revisit priorities” based on the experience from Ukraine, he said previously the source of Vedomosti in the defense industry.

In the 2022 budget, the Russian government has earmarked 3.5 trillion rubles for expenditure under the heading “national defence”, of which 2 trillion for the state armaments programme. By the way, it was decided to increase this amount by a third, to 4.7 trillion rubles, and in the 2023 budget – by another 300 billion rubles, to 5 trillion rubles.

At a meeting with the management of the defense plant in Tula in late December, Putin demanded an increase in weapons production in a short time and a “significant improvement” of its parameters.

“We don’t have any financial constraints,” he said. — The country, the government give everything that the army asks for.”