Putin Signs an EMERGENCY Order
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military expansion on August 25. The conflict with Ukraine is dragging on into its seventh month despite initial thoughts from inside the Kremlin that the fight would be over quickly. The decision to add more troops may be a sign the situation depleted troops more than Russia is willing to admit.
Putin signs decree to increase number of service members of Russian Armed Forces by 137,000 to 1.15M https://t.co/DHkiN55FYM
— Jennifer Hassan (@GuinnessKebab) August 25, 2022
The Russian leader’s order will increase the number of military personnel to 2.04 million from 1.9 million. Out of those 140,000 people, 137,000 will be combat troops.
The expansion is set to become effective in January 2023. Putin didn’t provide details about how the country would achieve the goal, but reports show he may have “active service personnel” to spare in his homeland.
In his order, he instructed government officials to provide the budget needed for the extended alteration. This decision marks the first time the Russian president has added to the military since November 2017.
Dara Massicot, a policy researcher from RAND, suggested the move could be Putin realizing this conflict will continue for much longer than he anticipated.
Thanks @OAJonsson — big Russian decree just dropped. To put this number into context— the Kremlin is authorizing adding an entire extra draft cycle’s worth of conscripts here— OR roughly half of their pre-war contractniki…(1/4) https://t.co/g4iZ5C7OwD
— Dara Massicot (@MassDara) August 25, 2022
Another potential reason for the boost could be massive losses within his military in Ukraine, although the Kremlin is tight-lipped about the actual number of casualties.
In the first weeks of the conflict, the nation reported a loss of only 1,351 soldiers, but other countries believe Russian troop deaths total “at least 10 times” that amount. Ukraine claims to have killed 45,000 troops minimum since the invasion on February 24.
Is Putin trying to replace a decimated army, or does he have bigger plans up his sleeve?
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