Peskov explained Putin's decree on increasing the army by a hostile environment
On September 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree increasing the size of the Russian army to 2,389,130 people, including 1.5 million military personnel. The document will enter into force on December 1, 2024. In the Kremlin, the president's decision was explained by the extremely hostile situation on the western borders and instability on the eastern ones. What else is said in Russia about the new decree - in the material of "Gazeta.Ru".
The increase in the size of the Russian army is due to the need to respond to current threats to the country. This was stated to journalists by the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov.
"This is caused by the number of threats that exist for our country along the perimeter of our borders. This is caused by the extremely hostile situation on the western borders and instability on the eastern borders, so it requires appropriate measures," the Kremlin spokesman stressed.
On September 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on increasing the staffing of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to 2,389,130 people, including 1.5 million military personnel (in addition to regular military personnel, the army also has civilian personnel). Thus, the regular number of military personnel was increased by 180 thousand people. The document comes into force on December 1, 2024.
After that, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation can become the second largest army in the world after China, if no other country decides to increase the ranks of its military personnel. Now, according to the Global Firepower rating, Russia ranks fifth among the states with the most numerous armed forces.
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| The most numerous armies in the world. |
| Source: Alina Dzhus/"Newspaper.Ru" |
How the number of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation has changed
Since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, the Russian president has twice increased the size of the Russian army. In August 2022, he signed a decree establishing the number of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the amount of 2,039,758 units, including 1,150,628 military personnel. This document entered into force on January 1, 2023.
After that, the staffing of the army changed in December 2023. By Putin's decree, it was increased to 2,209,130 people, including 1.32 million military personnel. There are 170 thousand more military personnel in the ranks of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
At that time, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the number of military personnel was increasing due to contract soldiers signing up for service, therefore, there were no plans to expand conscription or mobilize.
At the same time, back in December 2022, at the board of the Ministry of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, who then headed the department, spoke about the need to increase the number of military personnel in the ranks of the Russian army to 1.5 million people. According to him, it was necessary "to guarantee the solution of tasks to ensure the military security of the Russian Federation."
What is being said about the new decree in Russia
According to Andrei Gurulev, a member of the State Duma Committee on Defense, Vladimir Putin decided to increase the size of the army to form new units in his military.
"This is necessary in order to create new formations and units for conducting a special military operation, which today ... are recruited from among the volunteers who sign a contract [with the Ministry of Defense]," Gurulev said .
He also urged people not to panic, noting that in the future new units will also be formed from contractors.
Another member of the defense Committee of the State Duma, deputy Andrei Kolesnik, in an interview with the newspaper "Paragraph" stressed that the increase in the number of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is associated with growing challenges. They, Kolesnik noted, say that it is difficult for those forces that Russia had to fulfill the duties imposed on the army.
"Now we have calculated how many regular military personnel are needed so that there are no precedents for general mobilization. The regular armed forces are staffed according to peacetime standards. [An increase in the number of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is necessary] in order for us to have a modern contract army, based on the experience of conducting a special military operation in Ukraine and operations in Syria, as well as military operations of the Russian navy," the deputy said.
In turn, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defense, Alexei Zhuravlev, in a conversation with Gazeta.Ru» shtml" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">stated that Russia has increased the staffing of its armed forces in the face of the threat of a full-scale war with all NATO countries.
"Our president clearly speaks about this, directly linking the escalation with the West's discussions of missile strikes on Russian territory. Therefore, the increase in personnel is an overdue and timely decision," Zhuravlev said.
Eva Vishnevskaya
