Putin expands Russia's army for fourth time this year amid mobilization rumors
Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
Putin increases the army again
Putin signed a decree increasing the number of military personnel in the Russian army by 15,500.
Photo: Decree by Russian President Vladimir Putin on expanding the Russian Armed Forces (t.me/agentstvonews)
The last time the Kremlin leader increased the number was in late July, by:
- 25,000 military personnel,
- 2,000 civilian employees.
At the time, the additional positions were allocated to create military construction units — modern equivalents of Soviet military construction battalions, the outlet reports.
In mid-June, the total number of military personnel was increased by 7,700. Earlier, in March, the authorized strength was increased by another 2,000.
Russia’s army expansion since 2022
Before 2026, Putin last changed the size of the Russian army in September 2024, increasing it by 180,000 personnel at once.
Before that, Putin signed a similar decree in December 2023, increasing the number by 169,400 personnel.
For the first time since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine, Putin signed a decree increasing the size of the armed forces in August 2022. At the time, he increased the number of troops by 137,000.
The outlet notes that Putin signed his fourth decree this year, increasing the size of the armed forces amid reports of possible mobilization in Russia and a possible Russian attack on European countries.
Russian authorities have repeatedly denied having any such plans.
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that the Russian leader once again increased the authorized strength of the Russian army. A corresponding decree was signed in July.
In addition, on July 22, Russia’s State Duma passed a bill allowing citizens with unexpunged criminal convictions to sign contracts with Russia’s Defense Ministry during formal periods of mobilization.
