Russia has deployed nearly 1,60,000 troops in Ukraine since the invasion began on February 24. Several Ukrainian local reports have made the following estimation, citing Ukrainian intelligence reports.
As per one of the member of the Ukrainian Intelligence Directorate, Vadym Skybytsky, said that the estimated figure bars the Russian national guard members who have been given task by the Russian ministry of defence to control the occupied regions. In the early months of the invasion, Russia’s defence ministry had admitted that it lost more than 1,300 soldiers in the line of combat. But the US intelligence and UN figures put the death toll of Putin’s forces between 10,000 to 15,000.
As per reports, President of Russia, Vladimir Putin has inked a decree to boost the figure of the Armed Forces from 1,37,000 service members to 1.5 million (1,150,628) which is being deemed as a move to replace the significant losses of the combat troops in the Ukrainian war. “The move comes to establish the staff strength of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to 2,039,758 units, including 1,150,628 military personnel.”
The Russian Armed Forces’ strength stood at 1,902,758 in accordance with the previous decree signed by Putin. As per the document published on Russia’s legal information portal, the number of Russian troops will rise to 1,150,628. Moscow has also been recruiting Chechen and Syrian volunteers, and shadow paramilitary forces the Wagner group.
While the invasion entered the sixth month with troop losses on both sides, Putin’s decree will come into force on January 1 2023 that will consolidate Russia’s armed forces to their fifth position in the ranks of the world’s largest armed forces trailing behind China, India, the United States and North Korea. Russia’s president’s recent decree to boost armed forces figures is aimed at replenishing its military, which has suffered heavy losses.