Putin orders increase in size of Russian armed forces

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Thursday increasing the size of his country’s armed forces by 137,000, as the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine passed the six-month mark.

Putin’s decree will increase the number of combat personnel in the Russian armed forces by about 10%, to 1.15 million. That will take the total head count of the military to 2.04 million.

A copy of the order on a Russian government website says it comes into effect Jan. 1, 2023. It was published online and reported on by Russian state media, but no reason for the boost in troop numbers was immediately given.

It also orders that the Russian government ensure funds are provided for the increase from the federal budget. A previous such order signed by Putin in 2017 boosted the headcount number to 1.9 million, of which 1.01 million were combat personnel.