Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the country’s military to increase the number of troops by nearly 170,000 to a total of 1.32 million as Moscow continues its military action in Ukraine into its 22nd month. The decree was released by the Kremlin on Friday and took immediate effect, bringing the overall number of Russian military personnel to about 2.2 million, including 1.32 million troops.
This is the second such expansion of the army since 2018. The Defense Ministry stated that the order doesn’t imply any “significant expansion of conscription,” but rather the increase would happen gradually by recruiting more volunteers. The ministry cited “the special military operation” in Ukraine and the expansion of NATO as reasons for beefing up the army. In response to the “aggressive activities of the NATO bloc,” the Ministry said that increasing the number of Russian troops is appropriate.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu declared that the country needed a force of 1.5 million “to guarantee the fulfillment of tasks to ensure Russia’s security,” indicating that the military would reach that size at an unspecified future date. Amid continued hostilities, both Russia and Ukraine have kept military casualties under tight secrecy. The Russian military has confirmed only just over 6,000 military casualties.
The Russian authorities have taken various efforts to boost the army, including the ordered mobilization of 300,000 reservists to strengthen forces in Ukraine and the ban on volunteer soldiers from ending their contracts. Additionally, regional authorities have formed volunteer battalions for deployment to Ukraine, and a campaign has been underway to entice more men to enlist.
The efforts to recruit and deploy more soldiers come on top of the regular draft, which calls up around 120,000–140,000 men twice a year for a one-year tour of compulsory service. The Russian military rounds up draftees twice a year, and Mr. Putin ordered the drafting of 130,000 conscripts during the fall and 147,000 in the spring.