V. Putin’s order states that the total numerical composition of the Russian armed forces should be increased to 2,389,130 people, of which 1.5 million should be active duty soldiers. The order will enter into force in December 2024.
Think tanks collecting information about the world’s armed forces International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) data show that in such a case, Russia will surpass the United States and India in terms of the number of active military servicemen, trailing only China, which according to the information available to IISS has more than two million active servicemen.
The BBC notes that this is the third time since Russia’s general invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 that V. Putin has increased the numerical composition of the armed forces. Last time – in December 2023 – it was ordered to increase to 2,209,130 people (including 1,329,000 soldiers).
In an interview with Parlamentskaya Gazeta, the Chairman of the Defense Committee of the Russian State Duma, Andrejs Kartapolov, stated that the army should be increased “according to the current situation and the behavior of our former foreign partners, for example, new structures and units should be created to ensure security in the northwest, since Finland, with which we share a border, joined the NATO bloc”.
2024-09-19 00:15:36