Russia is expanding its military forces to 1.5 million active soldiers in response to perceived 'threats' along its borders, including tensions in the West, according to the Kremlin on Tuesday.
President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday, increasing the number of active Russian troops by 180,000 to 1.5 million, making the Russian army the second largest in the world in terms of active troop numbers, as reported by Russian media.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov informed reporters that this expansion is driven by the 'number of threats that exist for our country along the perimeter of our borders.' He further noted that the 'extremely hostile situation on the western borders and instability on the eastern borders' is a contributing factor.
This marks the third time Putin has ordered an increase in troops since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, with an estimated 700,000 troops currently engaged in Ukraine, according to Putin's June estimate.
In the past six weeks, Russia has mobilized troops to counter a Ukrainian cross-border offensive in its Kursk region and has intensified its operations in eastern Ukraine.
Neither side regularly discloses military casualty figures, but independent assessments suggest tens of thousands of deaths and injuries on both sides since the conflict began in 2022.
Russia has frequently cited threats on its borders, primarily from NATO's expansion. NATO maintains that it is a defensive alliance and does not seek conflict with Moscow, attributing the escalating tensions to Russia's 'aggressive behavior' towards its neighbors.
