Russia will worsen situation for itself: military observer on Putin's decree to expand Russian army

He expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.

"As for Putin's decree to increase the Russian army by 170,000 people, it shows that the Russian forces lack resources in all areas. They can now demonstrate some offensive actions, but again, these actions are not very effective. If we compare 2022, I think this is the most striking comparison, when Russian troops were attacking Kyiv, they had 40,000 personnel trained and fully equipped. They passed through Chernihiv and Sumy regions, reached Kyiv, and the result of the effectiveness of this force is well known. And to reach the administrative border of Avdiivka, about a kilometer and a half, there are more than 40 thousand Russian personnel there. So compare the level of efficiency of the Russian army," the military and political observer commented.

According to him, Russian troops may be advancing a little bit, but this cannot be called an effective offensive. But in order to be reinforced, they need a lot of resources to constantly maintain this level of intensity.

"With these 170,000, the Russians are planning to remedy the situation, although I think they will not remedy it as much as they will make it worse. Because these 170,000 need to be trained, first, and secondly, they need to be equipped so that they can use something in the combat zone, but they will not be able to do so. So, these factors will affect the growth of their losses, and they will be forced to recruit even more because of the growth of their losses. Russia has now entered the phase of the ouroboros (Greek for "one that devours (its) tail" - ed.): they can increase their staff to compensate for losses, but by increasing the number, they increase their losses," Oleksandr Kovalenko emphasized.

• Earlier, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that more than 452,000 Russians signed contracts with the Russian army over the past year. The contractors were recruited in Moscow, Chechnya and the temporarily occupied Sevastopol.
• On December 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that provides for an increase in the Russian army by 170,000 people.