The expansion of the russian military, ordered by russian dictator vladimir putin, is unlikely to affect the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine, given that russia, the aggressor state, has been increasing the size of its armed forces every year since the start of the full-scale war. Analysts attribute this latest increase to the expansion of the russian armed forces announced in 2023.
This is stated in an analysis by the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
On June 12, putin signed a decree setting the strength of the aggressor state russia’s armed forces at 2,399,130 personnel, including 1,510,000 military personnel.
Putin last issued such a decree on March 4, increasing the authorized strength of the russian Armed Forces to 2,391,770 personnel, including 1,502,640 active-duty service members. Thus, putin’s decree of June 12 provides for an increase in the number of military personnel by 7,360.
Analysts note that the russian leader’s decree actually represents a minor increase in the authorized strength of the russian Armed Forces as part of ongoing military reforms.
"The June 12 decree is unlikely to impact the battlefield situation in Ukraine. Russia has expanded the authorized end strength of the Russian Armed Forces nearly every year since launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the 2026 expansions continue to be the smallest so far," the analysis states.
In particular, according to the data cited, putin signed decrees to increase the size of the russian armed forces by 137,000 personnel in 2022, by 170,000 in 2023, and by 180,000 in 2024.
"ISW continues to assess that the increases support the expansion of the Russian force structure announced under then-Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in January 2023, as the formation of new Russian military districts, formations, and subordinate units requires more personnel to fully staff them," the Institute’s analysts concluded.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, at the same time, the kremlin began spending two-thirds of the taxes collected for the budget on the war for the first time. The share of military spending in the russian federation’s federal budget revenue reached an unprecedented 65.26% in the first quarter of 2026, according to calculations by Janis Kluge, a research fellow at the German Institute for International Security Affairs, based on data from the Ministry of Finance.
Meanwhile, during the celebration of russia Day on June 12, kremlin dictator vladimir putin once again made a series of statements regarding the russian federation’s military might. However, he also acknowledged some of the russian army’s setbacks on the battlefield in recent months.
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