Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday unveiled plans for a major boost to Russia’s military forces, with an increase of 180,000 troops, bringing the total number of active servicemen to a striking 1.5 million.
This strategic growth will position Russia as the world’s second-largest military force, overtaking the United States and India. Only China, with over 2 million active personnel, remains ahead, according to data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
The decree, published on the Kremlin’s official site, also raises the overall personnel count of Russia’s armed forces to 2.38 million. This marks Putin’s third call to expand the military since the outbreak of the Ukraine war in February 2022. Russian forces continue their operations in eastern Ukraine and are working to repel Ukrainian forces from Russia’s Kursk region, across an expansive 1,000 km (627-mile) frontline.
Despite Russia’s larger population and efforts to attract volunteers with enticing contracts for combat in Ukraine, the war has inflicted significant losses. Both Russia and Ukraine have kept casualty numbers under wraps, though both are believed to have suffered heavily.
Andrei Kartapolov, head of Russia’s parliamentary defense committee, said the troop surge is part of a larger modernization plan for the military. He emphasized the need to restructure the armed forces to address evolving global security concerns, particularly in northwest Russia. Finland’s recent NATO membership has further heightened the urgency for these changes.
