Putin Increased the Authorized Strength of the Russian Army for the Fourth Time Since the Beginning of the Year
On September 28, Vladimir Putin signed a decree to increase the authorized strength of the Russian Armed Forces by 15.5 thousand people. The document has already entered into force, writes The Moscow Times.
Currently, the authorized strength of the Russian army is 2,441,630 people, of whom 1,550,500 are military personnel. Before the previous increase, which occurred in July, these figures were 2,426,130 and 1,535,000 people, respectively.
This is already the fourth increase in the authorized strength of Russian troops in 2026 and the seventh since the beginning of the war against Ukraine.
In late July, Putin increased the staff of the Armed Forces by 25 thousand military personnel. The decree explained this by the creation of military construction units within the army. Prior to this, on June 12, the number of military personnel was increased by another 10 thousand — to 1,510,000 people, and the total authorized strength of the troops was brought to 2,399,130.
In March, the authorized strength of the Russian army was also increased — to 2,391,770 people, including 1,502,640 military personnel.
The new decree instructs the government to allocate the necessary funds for the Ministry of Defense in the federal budget. In Russia's 2026 budget, 12.9 trillion Russian rubles (about 152.66 billion dollars) were earmarked for defense. According to the draft budget for 2027, expenditures for these purposes could increase to 17.1 trillion rubles (202.37 billion dollars), which accounts for about 35% of all government spending.
The increase in the authorized strength of the Russian army has been occurring for several years in a row. In September 2024, it was brought to 2,389,130 people, including 1.5 million military personnel. In December 2023, the figures increased to 2,209,130 people, of whom 1,320,000 were military personnel. In August 2022, six months after the start of the war against Ukraine, the authorized strength was 2,039,758 people, including 1,150,628 military personnel.
Before the start of the war, a 2017 decree was in effect, according to which the authorized strength of the Russian army was 1,902,758 people, of whom 1,013,628 were military personnel.
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