OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
2:41 PM – Monday, September 16, 2024
As Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine continues for more than two and a half years, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued an order on Monday for the armed forces of his nation to augment their strength by 180,000, bringing the total to 1.5 million soldiers going to war.
Putin’s order, which was posted on the government’s official website, will go into effect on December 1st.
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It directs the government to supply the required funds and will place the total number of Russian military personnel at around 2.4 million, including the 1.5 million soldiers who will see combat.
The last time Russia’s army strength and numbers increased was in December of last year.
The most proficient Russian forces have been waging an offensive in eastern Ukraine, where over the last six months, they have gradually but steadily gained ground.
Putin also estimated in June that about 700,000 soldiers are engaged in what the Kremlin refers to as the “special military operation” in Ukraine.
In response to Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the fall of 2022, Russian authorities called up 300,000 reservists. However, since then, they have resorted to bringing in volunteer soldiers from abroad, drawn in by the relatively high pay.
Nevertheless, the Kremlin has been reluctant to summon more reservists, out of concern for domestic destabilization, which is similar to what occurred in 2022 when hundreds of thousands left Russia to escape being forced into going out into combat.
Reports also allege that one of the main factors contributing to the success of Ukraine’s August 6th invasion into Russia’s Kursk area was the lack of Russian military men there.
On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported reclaiming control of two more villages in the Kursk region from Ukrainian forces, according to ABC News.
The Russian and Ukrainian death toll figures are somewhat unclear, as both sides have been caught or accused multiple times of skewing their numbers. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu declared back in September 2022 that 5,937 Russian soldiers had lost their lives in the conflict. Since then, the ministry has not released a report.
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