Shoigu offers Putin to increase number of Russian armed forces for second time in year

This is reported by the Russian mass media.

Sergey Shoigu made the corresponding statement on December 21 after a meeting of the extended collegium of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, in which Russian leader Vladimir Putin participated.

"For a guaranteed solution to the tasks of ensuring the military security of the Russian Federation, it is necessary to increase the number of armed forces to one and a half million servicemen, including contract servicemen - up to 695,000 people," Shoigu said.

If Shoigu's initiative is supported, the increase of the Russian army will be the second since 2022.  In August, Putin signed a decree increasing the number of servicemen in the armed forces to 1,150,628. It enters into force on January 1, 2023.