Putin increases size of Russian army to 1.5 mln soldiers

The head of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has again increased the size of the army for the third time since the beginning of the full-scale war against Ukraine. Now, it will amount to 1.5 million military personnel, 180 thousand more than it was.

DW Telegram channel reports this with reference to Putin's Monday decree.

According to the decree, the total number of personnel in the Russian army will now be 2,389,130, with 1.5 million service members. The decree will come into effect on December 1.

It is noted that the President of the Russian Federation previously increased the size of the Russian army in December 2023, when the number of servicemen was 1.32 million. Before the start of the full-scale invasion of Russia in 2022, the number of military personnel in the Russian armed forces barely exceeded 1 million.

As reported, sources close to the Kremlin and the Ministry of Defense of Russia claimed in mid-August that the Russian army does not have sufficient replenishment, given its losses, which are the highest since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. Such a situation may force the country's leadership to announce a new wave of mobilization.

For reference:

Moscow plans to continue replenishing the occupiers' ranks. Recently, it was predicted in Britain that Putin intends to call up another 170,000 people for the war against Ukraine.

Putin said that by the end of the year, he will recruit half a million Russians for the war against Ukraine; currently, 617 thousand are fighting.

It is worth adding that according to the statement of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the losses of the Russian army during more than two years of full-scale invasion of Ukraine amounted to more than 350 thousand soldiers.

Moreover, the ISW analysts reported that the Russian government has introduced unconventional monetary rewards for military enlistment: an individual who refers a friend to the military recruitment officer will receive 100,000 rubles (equivalent to approximately $1,150).

It should be noted that the Russian government is developing a system to prevent the departure of potential conscripts and mobilized soldiers from the Russian army.