Vladimir Putin orders to increase the number of soldiers in the Russian army by 15%

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Friday, December 1, ordering a 15% increase in the number of soldiers in the Russian army. The head of state explained this increase by “increasing threats” linked to the conflict in Ukraine. The army will thus have to have 2.2 million members, including 1.32 million soldiers, according to this decree published by the government. The previous decree, dating from August 2022, set the number of planned members at 2 million, including 1.15 million military personnel.

Concretely, without counting civilian personnel, this represents an increase of 169,372 military personnel, or almost 15% of the currently established combat force. In addition to the conflict in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry also justified this increase by “the continuation of NATO enlargement”. “A reinforcement of the combined armed forces of the Alliance near the borders of Russia and the deployment of additional air defense assets and strike weapons are underway”he assured in a press release.

The ministry assured that this increase in its workforce will be carried out “by step”on the basis of voluntary commitments, and that no “mobilization is not planned”.