Putin signs decree to increase Russian military by nearly 170,000 personnel

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree increasing the number of military personnel in the country’s armed forces by nearly 170,000 people. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the increase would be achieved through “citizens wishing to serve in the military under contract” rather than through conscription or mobilization. The ministry said the boost in numbers was a response to “NATO’s aggressive activities.”

In the last six weeks, Russian forces have likely experienced the highest casualty rate since the start of the war, according to a daily intelligence update posted by the U.K. Defense Ministry, based on data from the Ukrainian General Staff. The ministry specified that they couldn’t verify the methodology, but “taken as a total including both killed and wounded, the figures are plausible.”

The total number of military casualties since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine is unknown. In August, The New York Times reported that up to 120,000 Russian servicemen had been killed and another 170,000-180,000 wounded.

In July, Meduza and Mediazona published a joint investigation into Russian military personnel losses from February 24, 2022, to the end of May 2023. According to calculations based on statistical data, 47,000 Russian servicemen were killed in Ukraine in that period.