Putin signed a decree to increase the number of military personnel from 1.9 million to 2.04 million in 2023.
Russian president Vladimir Putin is still trying to avoid the announcement of general mobilization, as evidenced by a rather modest increase in the number of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in accordance with the decree signed by him, say reports by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The Russian military probably wants to compensate for the damage caused by the invasion of Ukraine and gather forces to continue its “operation” in Ukraine, the reports suggest.
But analysts say the Russian command is unlikely to be able to create enough forces to reach a final number of more than 1.5 million soldiers – contrary to Putin’s decree.
In addition, Russia will face challenges in rapidly adding large numbers of new soldiers: “Russia’s training capabilities are likely to have declined since February 24 as the Kremlin has deployed training units to combat operations, and these training units have reportedly suffered casualties.” .
At the same time, analysts note that Russia can use the autumn conscription in October 2022 (in particular, in the occupied territories of Ukraine) to attract about 130,000 people to replace losses.
