According to Bloomberg Economics, data from the Federal Statistics Service of the Russian Federation indicate a net increase in the number of military personnel last year by about 400,000 people.
According to Bloomberg Russian economist Alexander Isakov, the total number of recruits probably exceeded half a million. This is because these figures do not take into account new recruitments to make up for losses of Russian personnel and recruitment by private military companies such as Wagner PMC.
“The Kremlin is now seeking 400,000 more contract recruits this year to fight in Ukraine as Putin digs in for a long fight, according to people familiar with the plan. Putin has approved a goal to increase the size of Russia’s military to 1.5 million from 1.15 million, which may take until 2026 to achieve,” the news agency noted.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported, citing sources, that the founder of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, may reduce the presence of his mercenaries in the war against Ukraine and focus on activities in Africa.