Russian President Vladimir Putin greenlighted on Wednesday plans to boost the size of the armed forces by over 30%, stating that Moscow needed to learn from and fix the problems it had suffered in Ukraine.
Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu recommended raising the number of the armed forces to 1.5 million from 1.15 million “to guarantee the solving of problems related to Russia's military security”.
Shoigu indicated that 695,000 of the fighters should be professional contracted soldiers - as opposed to conscripts serving mandatory military service.
Putin signed a decree only this summer ordering troop numbers to be increased by 137,000 from 1 Jan. 2023 to reach the 1.15 million level and has also drafted more than 300,000 reservists in a controversial mobilization drive to support the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
In the same vein, Shoigu proposed raising the age range for mandatory Russian military service to cover Russian citizens aged 21-30.
Under the current system, Russians aged between 18-27 will be called up for mandatory military service - though Shoigu and Putin have repeatedly said that conscripts are not being sent to fight in Ukraine.
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