Putin Increases Size of Russian Army for Third Time Since War in Ukraine Began

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to increase the staffing level of the Russian Armed Forces to 2,389,130, which will include 1.5 million military personnel.

The new staffing level, which comes into effect in December 2024, represents an increase of 180,000 personnel from the previous decree.

Putin had previously increased the staffing levels to 2,209,130, with 1,329,000 being military personnel in December 2023. The Russian Defense Ministry at the time attributed this increase to a supposed rise in threats related to the “Special Military Operation” and NATO expansion.

They stated that this expansion would be met by “citizens expressing a desire to serve under contract” and that there would be no significant increase in conscription or mobilization.

Earlier, in August 2022, the staffing level was also raised, expanding from a 2017 decree that set the army’s size at 1,013,628 military personnel, according to the Russian Service of the BBC.

The Russian Defense Ministry has yet to comment on the latest decree.

Alexander Kovalenko, a military and political expert with the Information Resistance group, told RBC-Ukraine that the increase highlights ongoing problems in the war with Ukraine. According to Kovalenko, the shortage of equipment is prompting Russia to rely more heavily on increasing its human resources.

He suggested that Russia’s strategy of compensating for equipment shortages with additional personnel might lead to the army becoming a large, predominantly infantry-based force with minimal equipment.

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Kovalenko also disclosed that Russia is facing difficulties with voluntary enlistment, citing that even significant financial incentives have not been sufficient to attract sufficient recruits.

“Currently, they are offering 2 million rubles ($22,000) to encourage voluntary enlistment, yet mobilization remains problematic,” he said. “In the future, the process may become more repressive, as few are willing to join the army.”