Putin orders Russian army to add 180,000 troops, boosting total to 1.5 million

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday raising the total size of Russia’s armed forces by 180,000 troops — a move that will bring the total number of active duty soldiers to 1.5 million. This marks Russia’s third expansion of its military ranks since the Kremlin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022.

The document, published on Russia’s official legal portal, will take effect on Dec. 1. As per the decree, the total size of Russia's armed forces will rise to 2.38 million personnel, with 1.5 million designated as active servicemen.

Since 2022, Putin has issued two previous orders to expand combat troop numbers — by 137,000 and 170,000, respectively. The latter increase, which occurred in December 2023, brought the total size of Russia’s army to 2.2 million — including 1.32 million active personnel.

Russia also mobilized over 300,000 soldiers in September and October 2022, prompting thousands of draft-age men to leave the country.

The Kremlin has claimed that no further mobilization is currently planned, repeatedly stressing that the continued recruitment of volunteers through lucrative contracts is enough to meet its personnel needs.

Cover photo: Parade marking the World War II anniversary at Red Square in Moscow, May 9, 2017. Source: Reuters