RT reported that on September 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree officially increasing the number of personnel in the Russian armed forces to nearly 2.4 million people, including 1.5 million soldiers.
The latest increase comes after a similar decree in December 2023, when President Putin asked to increase the number of personnel in the Russian army to more than 2.2 million people, including 1.3 million soldiers.
In the decree dated September 16, President Putin also directed the Russian government to allocate the necessary funds for the Ministry of National Defense to carry out the increase, officially bringing the number of personnel in the armed forces to 2,389,130 people.
In the previous troop increase, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained that the move was the result of the "proxy war" the West is waging against Russia.
"Of course, our country's security must be guaranteed," Peskov said at the time.
"This is related to the war that Western countries are waging. A proxy war, involving components directly involved in military operations and economic warfare elements, financial warfare, legal warfare, beyond the legal framework....
The Russian Defense Ministry also said at the time that the increase would be done through citizens who volunteered to serve under contracts.
The Russian Defense Ministry explained that the decision to increase the number of troops was due to the threat of continuous NATO expansion. Members of the US-led coalition have significantly expanded their military presence along the Russian border, deploying additional air defense and weapons systems.
Increasing combat strength and troop numbers is a appropriate response to NATOs aggressive operations, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
