British intelligence: Kremlin inflates number of Russian military forces

The UK Ministry of Defence reports.

It is noted that on January 11, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev stated that in 2023, 500 thousand people joined the Russian armed forces.

However, according to British intelligence, it is quite likely that this figure is significantly inflated.

The British Ministry of Defence notes that the Russian military, in their efforts to achieve recruitment targets, allowed high school graduates to sign contracts with the Russian army starting from April 2023. The latest data, published by Mediazona and the BBC Russian service, indicate that at least five Russians born in 2005 have died during the war.

“It is highly likely that Russian military recruitment to sustain the war has disproportionately drawn from impoverished and rural regional communities of Russia,” the British Ministry of Defence notes.

• According to the latest data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), occupying Russian forces have increased the number of personnel in the Bakhmut direction to about 80,000.