Putin orders to increase the personnel of the Russian Armed Forces by almost 170,000 soldiers

2023-12-01 22:02:44

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin – Europa Press/Contact/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin P

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MADRID, 1 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, signed a presidential decree this Friday to expand the personnel of the Russian Armed Forces by 170,000, bringing the Eurasian country to more than 2.2 million military employees.

According to the official document, published by the Kremlin, the Russian Armed Forces must have 2.2 million employees, including 1.3 million military personnel, according to the Russian news agency TASS.

However, despite ordering a significant increase in military personnel, the Russian president has not contemplated this objective being achieved through a mobilization of the population, as occurred in September 2022.

“The increase in the number of servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is being implemented in stages at the expense of citizens who express a desire to perform military service under contract,” the Ministry of Defense said.

The Russian authorities have justified this decision by referring to the growing threats to which Russia is exposed, especially derived from its “special military operation”, a euphemism with which Moscow refers to the invasion of Ukraine.

Likewise, Moscow has directly pointed not only to the support of NATO countries for Ukraine, but also to the expansion of the Atlantic Alliance itself, with the recent accession of Sweden and the more than likely entry of Finland.

“The joint Armed Forces of the alliance are being built near the borders of Russia, additional strike and air defense weapons are being deployed. The potential of NATO’s tactical nuclear forces is being increased,” the Ministry of Defense added. .

Thus, the Russian authorities have stressed that “under current conditions”, the additional increase in military and combat personnel “is an appropriate response to the aggressive activities of the Atlantic Alliance bloc.”