Putin orders reinforcement of Russian armed forces with 137,000 new soldiers

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Thursday that provides for an increase in Russian military strength by 137,000 troops, bringing the total number of agents to more than 1.15 million.

According to the presidential decree published today, which will come into effect on January 1, 2023, the Russian armed forces will have 1,150,628 soldiers, the Interfax news agency reported.

After the new increase, the cadres of the Russian armed forces will exceed two million elements (2,039,758), a number that includes civilian personnel.

In November 2017, Putin had set the number of effective military personnel at 1,013,628, which was an unprecedented measure in nearly a decade. On that date, the cadre of the Russian armed forces, globally and including civilian personnel, numbered 1,902,758 people.

Putin’s new decree does not specify how the process of strengthening the cadres of the armed forces will be carried out, namely whether it will undergo an increase in recruits and volunteers, or whether a combination of both will be adopted.

The Kremlin (Russian Presidency) has said only contracted volunteer soldiers are taking part in the “special military operation” in Ukraine, rejecting claims it is considering a broad mobilization of war forces.

Russian media and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) say the Kremlin has tried to increase the number of troops involved in military actions in Ukraine by recruiting more volunteers, hiring mercenaries and offering amnesty to some prisoners in return. for participating in the military mission.

The Russian regional authorities have also made efforts to strengthen the ranks by forming battalions of volunteers to be sent to Ukraine.

All Russian men between the ages of 18 and 27 are required to serve in the armed forces for one year, but a large proportion avoid recruitment on health grounds or using the deferral scheme granted to university students.

The proportion of men avoiding recruitment is particularly high in Moscow and other large cities.

Putin had already ordered the drafting of 134,500 troops during the most recent recruitment, in the spring of this year, and 127,500 last fall.

In recent years, the Kremlin has managed to increase its quota of contracted volunteer soldiers in its effort to modernize the military.

Before the Kremlin sent troops to Ukraine on February 24, the Russian army had more than 400,000 contract troops, including about 147,000 ground troops.

The number of conscripts was estimated at about 270,000, with officers and non-commissioned officers accounting for the rest.

Military observers have pointed out that if the campaign continues on Ukrainian soil, these numbers could clearly be insufficient to support operations in Ukraine, which has set itself the goal of building a strong army of one million soldiers.