Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov speaks to journalists on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia,  Sept 11, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

MOSCOW- It is necessary for Russia to increase defense spending in 2024, due to the hybrid war that is being waged against the country, the Kremlin said Thursday.

"It is clear that such an increase is ... absolutely necessary," local media reported, citing Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

A new batch of fifth-generation Su-57 fighter jets has been delivered to the Ministry of Defense by Russian aircraft manufacturers, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said on Thursday

Peskov noted this is particularly significant, in the context of the hybrid war that is currently being waged against Russia, and the country's ongoing special military operation. Tackling these challenges will require higher costs, according to the Kremlin.

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Separately, a new batch of fifth-generation Su-57 fighter jets has been delivered to the Ministry of Defense by Russian aircraft manufacturers, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said on Thursday.

Manturov said that the fighter jets had passed a full cycle of factory tests and had been tested in various operating modes by military pilots.

Yuri Slyusar, general director of the United Aircraft Corporation, said that the rest of the fifth-generation fighters that were planned to be delivered this year were either in the final assembly shop or at the flight test station.

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He added that they had delivered the third batch of Su-35S this year and the next batch was ready for production.

Su-57 is a Russian multifunctional fifth-generation fighter. It features a supersonic cruising speed, internal weapons, radio-absorbing coating and the latest complex of onboard equipment.