Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the military to increase the number of troops by nearly 170,000 to a total of 1.3 million. This marks the second time in 15 months that Russia has boosted its military personnel, with the earlier increase of 137,000 troops ordered by Putin in August 2022. The move comes as the war in Ukraine continues to drag on, with the Russian defense ministry citing the conflict and the expansion of the NATO defense alliance as reasons for the increase.
According to the Russian defense ministry, NATO’s “combined armed forces are being built up near Russia’s borders and additional air defense systems and strike weapons are being deployed. The potential of NATO’s tactical nuclear forces is being increased.” In response, the ministry stated that “an additional increase in the combat strength and size of the Armed Forces is an adequate response to the aggressive activities of the NATO bloc.”
The war in Ukraine, which Russia’s invasion spurred, has been ongoing for 21 months. The conflict has also led to the expansion of NATO, with Finland joining the Western defense alliance in the spring and Sweden making moves towards joining as well. This has further heightened tensions in the region.
With this latest increase, the overall number of Russian military personnel will rise to 2.2 million, including 1.3 million troops. The move signals to Russia’s neighbors and NATO that it is prepared to defend its interests and respond to what it perceives as aggressive actions by the Western defense alliance.