Kremlin unveils reason behind surge in military forces

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, has revealed that the recent increase in the Russian army's size is a response to the growing number of threats along Russia's borders.

Peskov stated that this expansion is essential to counter the "threats" confronting the country, including a "highly hostile situation" on the western front and instability on the eastern front, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

This announcement follows a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin on September 16, which authorises an increase in the size of the armed forces to 2.389 million personnel, including 1.5 million active servicemen in a move that would make it the second largest in the world after China’s.

The new measure will take effect on December 1, 2024. This is the second recent expansion of military numbers, coming after an increase of 170,000 troops in December 2023, which the Kremlin linked to what it described as a "proxy war" by the West.

Andrey Kartapolov, chairman of Russia’s lower house of parliament’s defence committee, said the increase in active troop numbers was part of a plan to overhaul the armed forces and gradually increase their size to match what he described as the current international situation and the behaviour of “our former foreign partners.”

Notably, Putin since 2022 had previously ordered two official increases in the number of combat troops – by 137,000 and 170,000 respectively.

In addition, Russia mobilised over 300,000 soldiers in September and October 2022.