Russian President Vladimir Putin has directed a significant expansion of the country’s military forces, increasing troop numbers by 180,000 to reach a total of 1.5 million active servicemen. This expansion, effective December 1, will make Russia’s army the second largest globally, surpassed only by China’s.
The decree, released on the official government website, stipulates that the overall size of the armed forces will grow to 2.38 million people. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), this expansion will position Russia’s military above the United States and India in terms of active combat personnel, with China maintaining the largest army with just over 2 million troops.
This move marks the third major increase in Russia’s military ranks since the onset of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The expansion comes as Russian forces continue their operations in eastern Ukraine and attempt to push Ukrainian troops out of Russia’s Kursk region.
In June, Putin reported nearly 700,000 troops were engaged in the conflict in Ukraine. Following a call-up of 300,000 reservists in late 2022, Russia has depended on recruiting volunteer soldiers, incentivized by high wages.
Dara Massicot, a Russian military expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, raised concerns about the financial implications of sustaining such a large force. Massicot questioned whether the Kremlin could afford the increase in active servicemen while maintaining its defense budget and procurement needs. She suggested that expanding the draft or altering laws to include more women in the military might be necessary.
Many analysts have noted the Kremlin’s hesitance to increase the draft size, wary of a repeat of 2022 when mass draft evasion led to a significant exodus from the country. Despite its larger population compared to Ukraine, Russia continues to suffer substantial battlefield losses. The exact scale of these losses remains classified.
