Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine back in February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin has now signed a decree for the third expansion of Russia’s military force, bringing the total number of soldiers to an impressive 1.5 million by winter. This significant increase in manpower signals that Russia does not intend to reduce the intensity of their fight in the Donbass region. Combining active servicemen and reserve forces, this expansion will bring the overall size of Russia’s army to more than 2,300,000 personnel.
President Putin had previously approved two other expansions of Russia’s military forces – an increase of 137,000 in August 2022 and another expansion of 170,000 in December 2023. During the autumn of 2022, when Ukraine’s much-hyped counteroffensive was underway, Putin called up around 300,000 reservists to join the conflict.
This latest increase in troop numbers could also serve as a message to NATO that Russia is not planning to back down from its actions, particularly as discussions about approving Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to attack within Russian territory are ongoing between the US and the UK.
According to reports by The Associated Press and Reuters, this expansion will place Russia’s army as the second largest in manpower size worldwide, with only China’s PLA military surpassing it. In a decree published on the Kremlin’s website, Putin ordered an increase of 180,000 active servicemen, bringing the total to 2.38 million people.
There are speculations that this recent expansion may also be a response to Ukraine’s Kursk offensive. Ukrainian officials had hoped that an invasion into southern Russia might force Russian troops stationed in Donetsk to relocate and defend their soil from potential attacks, thereby creating a strategic advantage for Kiev. However, Moscow has denied any significant troop movement or redeployment thus far.
Instead, the Russian military seems to be intensifying its counteroffensive campaign in eastern Ukraine, making steady gains over the past few months. In June, Putin himself stated that there were nearly 700,000 troops involved in the ongoing “special military operation” in Ukraine. This expansion of Russia’s armed forces is a clear indication that this conflict will remain complex and multifaceted for the foreseeable future.