The Kremlin has announced plans to expand its army, aiming to make it the second largest in the world in response to perceived threats from the West. President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree increasing the Russian army by 180,000 troops, bringing the total number of active servicemen to 1.5 million.
According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, this move would place Russia’s military ahead of India and the United States, second only to China. Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman, explained the decision was driven by growing threats surrounding Russia’s borders, citing a "hostile environment" in the West and instability in the East.
The expansion comes amid reports of heavy losses sustained by Russian forces during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Western intelligence, cited by *The Wall Street Journal*, estimates that since February 2022, Russia has lost nearly 200,000 soldiers, with 400,000 more wounded. Ukraine, too, has suffered significant losses, with around 80,000 soldiers killed and 400,000 injured, according to Ukrainian estimates.
These losses have forced Russian commanders to rely on hastily trained recruits to sustain their offensive in eastern Ukraine and mount counterattacks against Ukrainian-held territory in the Russian Kursk region. A Western official noted that while Russia has the manpower to outnumber Ukrainian forces, the quality of its troops is lacking, with many soldiers receiving only minimal training
Russia is reportedly able to recruit about 1,000 new troops daily to compensate for its losses, with its large population of 146 million serving as a key advantage in this war of attrition. Since the war began, Putin has ordered two official troop increases, adding 137,000 and 170,000 soldiers, respectively. He also mobilized 300,000 soldiers between September and October 2022, leading to an exodus of military-aged men fleeing the country.
Despite the Kremlin's insistence that there are no plans for further mobilization, it increasingly relies on volunteers. Experts question whether Russia’s struggling economy, burdened by Western sanctions and war costs, can sustain this military expansion.
Dara Massicot, a Russian military expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, expressed skepticism about whether the Kremlin can maintain a 1.5 million-strong force without significantly boosting its defense budget.
It has been reported that volunteers from the Moscow region are being offered up to £50,000 in wages and bonuses to fight in Ukraine, a sum that is roughly four times the average annual salary in Russia.
From July 2023 to June 2024, the government is estimated to have spent around three trillion rubles (£27 billion) in compensation to soldiers and their families—about 1.6% of Russia’s GDP and 8% of its federal budget.
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