The Kremlin is beefing up its military yet again as Russia’s military continues to suffer devastating losses on the battlefield.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an executive order Monday that increases the Russian military by 15,500 troops, bringing the total number of active-duty servicemen to 1.55 million. The overall force now stands at 2,441,630 personnel.
Russia published Order No. 700 on its official legal information portal. It is the fourth such decree this year, according to Russian state-owned media outlet TASS, and it instructs the government to hand over whatever federal funds the Defense Ministry needs to carry out the increase.
Monday’s order does not explain the reason for the latest increase, but Putin has raised military personnel numbers several times since he launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The exiled news outlet Meduza reports that the military has created 52,500 new positions this year, most of them active-duty slots rather than civilian support jobs.
Kyiv has accused Russia of preparing for a new mass mobilization of troops after holding parliamentary elections last week, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed Russia has “in effect” begun the process of surging troop recruitment “through various means,” though he did not provide details.
Putin, who last ordered a “partial” mobilization of reservists in September 2022, has dismissed the mobilization claims as “disinformation.”
The order arrives against a grim backdrop for Moscow. Euronews reports the decree comes amid rising Russian losses in Ukraine, with battlefield advances slowing this year as widespread drone use has made rapid movement of large troop units almost impossible. Euronews also notes reports of Ukrainian breakthroughs on certain sections of the front.
Zelensky also warned that Russia is leaning harder on foreign fighters. Citing new intelligence from Ukraine’s Military Intelligence, he said more than 8,000 North Korean military personnel are currently in Russia, with preparations underway to send 10,000 more.
The decree comes after Putin, speaking on Friday, denied that Moscow is preparing for war with Europe. He accused the Baltic states of violating the rights of Russian speakers, vowed that Russia would keep fighting for them, and mocked Estonia’s security concerns as “political clowning.”
The Kremlin has long pointed to alleged discrimination against Russian minorities to justify its pressure on neighbors, including Ukraine before the full-scale invasion was launched. Moscow has also repeatedly denied it planned to attack Ukraine, and it still refers to the war as a “special military operation,” downplaying its significance.
A March decree set the total at 2,391,770, and a June decree raised it to 2,399,130. A decree that took effect Aug. 1 put the military at 2,426,130 personnel, including 1,535,000 troops. Overall, Russia’s authorized military strength has grown by 49,860 since March, according to TASS.
