Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, has given the military command to increase the entire force by about 170,000 soldiers as Moscow's invasion of Ukraine approaches its 22nd month. Russia recruits 170,000 more soldiers to its armed forces.
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Putin's order went into effect right away after the Kremlin announced it on Friday. It raises the total number of Russian military troops to almost 2.2 million and enhances the armed forces' strength to 1.32 million service people.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement that "the increase in the entire force of the armed forces is due to the growing threats to our country associated with the special military operation and the ongoing expansion of NATO."
More than 452,000 people were recruited into the military under a contract between January 1 and December 1, 2023, according to a statement made on Friday by Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council and a former president of Russia.
NATO's "joint armed forces are being deployed and additional air defense systems and strike weapons are being built up near Russia's borders."
The ministry statement stated that NATO's tactical nuclear forces are becoming more capable.
The ministry further stated that increasing Russian force strength was a suitable reaction to "the aggressive activities of the NATO block."
Since 2018, the army has expanded in this manner twice. After Putin ordered a 137,000 troop increase in August 2022, the military had roughly two million personnel and 1.15 million troops.
