At the end of 2023, Putin issued another order to expand the size of the Russian army by 170,000 people!
The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed today that Putin signed a ** order on December 1 to adjust the establishment of the Rus' armed forces to 22090,000 people, including 1.32 million active military personnel. That figure is quite close to Putin's goal of expanding the size of the Russian army to 1.5 million a year ago.
In August last year, Russia announced the mobilization of 300,000 reservists to participate in the war in Ukraine, resulting in the establishment of the Russian armed forces to 2.04 million, of which 1.15 million are active soldiers. In contrast, all of the 170,000 additional troops were deployed to the front line. This shows that Russia is becoming more and more determined to maintain regional stability and stability.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stressed that the increase in troops is in response to "the growing threat to our country related to the special military operation and the continuous expansion of NATO", and the new troops are mainly contracted soldiers, and Russia has no intention of expanding the scale of conscription, and does not plan to carry out a new round of conscription and mobilization.
More than a year has passed since the last military expansion was announced, and it is not surprising that Russia has made this decision again. In war, anything is possible, and as long as either side is not directly defeated, the possibility of negotiation is relatively small.
After an "active defense" in 2023, there are various indications that it may be Russia's turn to take the initiative next spring. Therefore, the arrangements for this wave of military expansion appear to be very appropriate. The current military expansion and winter training are a harbinger of battlefield challenges next spring.
As the Russia-Ukraine conflict is about to enter its third year, with the onset of winter, the battlefield has once again entered a relatively stalemate. In the icy environment, both sides are unlikely to launch a new large-scale offensive, however, the continuous attrition of troops in winter continues, and in order to simultaneously defend several fronts such as **mut, Zaporozhye, Kherson, etc., Russia has to constantly invest a large number of troops.
This kind of procrastination is very cruel, and the parties involved in the war must not let up in the slightest, because if a single point of breach of a certain front can trigger the collapse of the entire defensive line, and the previous efforts will be completely invalidated.
One of Putin's recent headaches is Finland. On December 1, Finland closed the last checkpoint on the Russian-Finnish border, and NATO troops are currently being assembled. This change means that Finland, armed to the teeth, will become another huge pressure on Russia.
Putin has just announced a 70 percent increase in defense spending, followed by an order to expand the troop by another 170,000 troops. This series of moves clearly sends a clear signal to NATO and Ukraine that Russia will not compromise or back down. The fighting nations will continue to fight until all the objectives of the war are achieved.
So, what is Russia's goal in the war?The goals include forcing NATO to abandon its plans for expansion to the east, ensuring Russia's complete control over the four eastern regions of Ukraine, and ultimately achieving domination over all of Ukraine. This is a clear demonstration of Russia's determination at the strategic level, not only to maintain the geopolitical balance, but also to bring the entire region into its sphere of influence.