Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a significant increase in the size of the Russian army for the third time since the start of the war in Ukraine.
According to his decree, published on September 16 on the legal acts portal, the authorized strength of the armed forces is to be increased to 2,389,000 personnel, including 1.5 million active servicemen, starting from December 1, 2024. This will raise the number of active servicemen by 180,000.
Previously, Putin had adjusted the army's size in December 2023, increasing it to 2,209,000, with 1,320,000 of them being active servicemen, an increase of 170,000 from before.
In August 2022, Putin had expanded the Russian army to 1,150,000 active servicemen. At the start of the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian armed forces had 1,031,628 servicemen. Thus, over the past two and a half years of combat, the army's size has grown by nearly 500,000 personnel.
The Ministry of Defense emphasized that the army's increase will be achieved through contract enlistments, with no plans for draft expansion or mobilization.
Following the 2023 expansion, the military department reported the formation of two new armies and 50 new units. In March of the current year, then-Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced plans to form an additional two ground forces armies and 30 new units, including 14 divisions and 16 brigades.
Shoigu stressed that the "progressive development and enhancement of combat capabilities" of the armed forces is being carried out "in accordance with the decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief" Putin.
Meanwhile, Western intelligence reports suggest that Russia may have lost up to 450,000 killed and wounded since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. The Russian Service of the BBC and Mediazona have confirmed at least 68,011 deaths based on open data. The highest casualties were among volunteers who signed contracts after the start of the full-scale invasion.
According to Putin's own estimates, by early June, the Russian army had lost more than 130,000 servicemen killed in the invasion of Ukraine, with an equal number sustaining various injuries and wounds.
