World News | Putin Orders Russian Military to Add 170,000 Troops for a Total of About 1.32 Million
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday ordered the country's military to increase the number of troops by nearly 170,000 to a total of 1.32 million, as Moscow's military action in Ukraine continues into its 22nd month.
Moscow, Dec 2 (AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday ordered the country's military to increase the number of troops by nearly 170,000 to a total of 1.32 million, as Moscow's military action in Ukraine continues into its 22nd month.
Putin's decree was released by the Kremlin on Friday and took force immediately. It brings the overall number of Russian military personnel to about 2,200,000, including 1,320,000 troops.
It is the second such expansion of the army since 2018. The previous boost by 137,000 troops, ordered by Putin in Aug. 2022, put the military's numbers at about 2 million personnel and about 1,150,000 troops.
The Defense Ministry said the order doesn't imply any “significant expansion of conscription,” saying in a statement that the increase would happen gradually by recruiting more volunteers. The ministry cited what it called “the special military operation” in Ukraine and the expansion of NATO as the reasons for beefing up the army.
NATO's "joint armed forces are being built up near Russia's borders and additional air defense systems and strike weapons are being deployed. The potential of NATO's tactical nuclear forces is being increased," the statement read.
Boosting Russian troops is an appropriate response to "the aggressive activities of the NATO bloc,” the ministry said. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)