In the last month of 2023, Putin issued an order to expand the army by 170,000.
The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that on December 1, Putin signed a ** order setting the establishment of the Russian armed forces at 22090,000 people, of which 1.32 million are soldiers. That figure is close to Putin's goal of expanding Russia's army to 1.5 million in January.
The last time Russia announced a military expansion was in August last year, when 300,000 reservists were mobilized for the battlefield in Ukraine, bringing the strength of the Russian armed forces to 2.04 million, of which 1.15 million are active military personnel. In contrast, the 170,000 additional troops were put to the front.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stressed that the expansion is in response to "the growing threat to our country in connection with the special military operation and the constant expansion of NATO." The increase in troops is mainly based on contract soldiers, and Russia has no plans to expand the scale of conscripts, nor has it carried out a new round of mobilization.
After more than a year, it is not surprising that Russia has once again announced the expansion of its army. On the battlefield, one side is not directly defeated, and the possibility of peace talks seems small.
After an "active defense" in 2023, there are signs that Russia could launch an offensive next spring, so this wave of military expansion is a sensible arrangement. Now the army is being expanded and winter training is being carried out to prepare for the battlefield next spring.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict is about to enter its third year, and with the onset of winter, the battlefield has once again entered a stalemate. It is unlikely that the two sides will launch a new large-scale offensive in the ice and snow, but the continued investment of troops in the winter will continue. In order to maintain several fronts at the same time, Russia must continue to invest a large number of troops.
This kind of tug-of-war is very cruel, and the two sides must not relax in the slightest. Once a certain line is breached, it can lead to the collapse of the entire defensive line, and previous efforts will be wasted.
Recently, one problem that has given Putin a headache is Finland. On December 1, Finland closed the last checkpoint on the Russian-Finnish border, and NATO troops were massing. This makes Finland another enormous pressure on Russia.
As a result, Putin has just increased defense spending by 70 percent, followed by another 170,000 troops. This series of actions sends a clear signal to NATO and Ukraine: Russia will not compromise and retreat, and the fighting will continue until all operational objectives are achieved.
So, what are Russia's operational goals?It is to force NATO to abandon its eastward expansion, achieve complete control over the four eastern regions of Ukraine, and make the whole of Ukraine a vassal state of Russia.
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