Putin enlists another 180,000 soldiers by decree

(Patria) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered an increase in the number of troops by 180,000, to a total of 1.5 million, according to a presidential decree published on the Russian government's website. The order takes effect on December 1.

The document sets the total number of Russian military personnel at nearly 2.4 million, of which 1.5 million are soldiers, and instructs the government to provide the necessary funding for this, reports RFE.

The previous increase in the number of Russian troops was in December, when Putin by decree set the number of Russian military personnel at about 2.2 million, of which 1.32 million were soldiers.

Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, which continues to this day.

After calling up 300,000 reservists in the fall of 2022, Russian authorities switched to filling the troops fighting in Ukraine with volunteers, and that year a large number of citizens left the country to avoid mobilization.