Putin wants Russian army to be 2nd largest in world

KABUL (Pajhwok): President Vladimir Putin has ordered an increase in the Russian army strength by 180,000 troops to 1.5 million active servicemen.

Reuters reported that in a decree published on the Kremlin’s website, Putin ordered the overall size of the armed forces be raised to 2.28 million.

According to data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a leading military think tank, such an increase would see Russia leapfrog the United States and India in terms of the number of active combat soldiers and be second only to China in size.

The move marks the third time Putin has expanded the army's ranks since sending his military into Ukraine in February 2022.

Since 2022, the Russian leader previously ordered two official increases in the number of combat troops - by 137,000 and 170,000 respectively.

sa/mud