Russia to boost size of army by 180,000 troops to 1.5 million
By Christian Edwards and Anna Chernova, CNN
Published 11:42 AM EDT, Mon September 16, 2024
The increase would take the overall number of Russian military personnel to nearly 2.4 million, including 1.5 million troops, according to the decree published by the Kremlin Monday. The new staffing will come into effect in December, it said.
Since 2022, Putin has ordered two previous expansions in the number of combat troops, in addition to a mobilization of military reservists and conscripts.
In August 2022, Putin ordered an increase of 137,000 troops by the start of the new year, which put the military’s staffing at just over 2 million personnel, including 1.15 million troops.
The next month, after a sudden and successful Ukrainian offensive that liberated most of the eastern Kharkiv region, Putin ordered the immediate “partial mobilization” of Russian citizens. The mobilization meant citizens with military experience were subject to conscription and that military reservists could be called up.
The mobilization prompted hundreds of thousands to flee the country – many to neighboring Georgia and other formerly communist countries near Russia’s border – and sparked angry demonstrations, particularly in Russia’s ethnic minority regions that have borne the brunt of previous recruitment drives.
The mobilization was suspended in November 2023 after officials said the target of recruiting 300,000 personnel had been met.
Then in December, Putin ordered another official expansion of 170,000 troops, bringing the total to 1.32 million.
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