Russia's defence industry which is said to have ramped up weapons production due to its ongoing conflict with Ukraine is facing a labour shortage. Russian Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov said that this year "much more has already been produced [than in] the whole of last year"; but that this has led to a lack of personnel, and stated that over 16,000 specialists were required alone for organisations supplying the most popular types of weapons and special equipment, while earnings growth in Russia was at its lowest since 2011.