MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered the country's military to increase its troops by 180,000 to a total of 1.5 million, as Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine stretches beyond two and a half years.
Putin’s decree, published on the government’s official website, goes into effect on December 1. It sets the total number of Russian military personnel at nearly 2.4 million, including 1.5 million troops, and orders the government to provide the necessary funding.
The previous increase in Russian troops came in December last year, when Putin issued a decree setting the total number of Russian military personnel at around 2.2 million, including 1.32 million troops.
The most capable Russian forces have launched an offensive in eastern Ukraine, making gradual but steady progress in recent months.
In June, Putin estimated the number of troops involved in what the Kremlin called the “special military operation” in Ukraine at nearly 700,000.
After 300,000 reservists were called up for the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the fall of 2022, Russian authorities have switched to filling the ranks of troops fighting in Ukraine with volunteers, attracted by the relatively high wages.
Many commentators have noted that the Kremlin has been reluctant to call up more reservists, fearing domestic destabilization, as happened in 2022 when hundreds of thousands of people fled Russia to avoid being sent to combat.
The shortage of military personnel is often cited as a major reason for the success of the Ukrainian invasion of the Russian region of Kursk on August 6.
The Kremlin has tried to prevent the redeployment of troops from eastern Ukraine and has relied on reinforcements from other areas to stem the Ukrainian incursion. The Russian Defense Ministry said Monday that it had regained control of two more villages in the Kursk region from Ukrainian troops.
