Russian Defense Minister Shoygu wants to increase the size of Russian army to 1.5 million
The Russian Defense Ministry believes that Russia no longer has enough military to deter "enemies" outside the country. In this regard, the Russian Defense Minister, Sergei Shoygu, proposed several measures to increase the Russian army.
At an expanded meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry, Shoygu said that the conscription age has to be increased.
"When recruiting into the Armed Forces, gradually increase the age of conscription from 18 to 21 years, and raise the limit to 30 years," Shoygu said. Now, only Russian male citizens aged 18 to 27 are subject to conscription for military service.
In addition, Shoygu said that it is necessary that 2 additional strategic territorial formations be created - the Moscow and Leningrad military districts. "Considering NATO's desire to increase its military potential near the Russian borders, it is necessary to take measures to create a grouping of troops in the north-west of the country," the minister explained.
Shoygu also said that it is necessary to bring the number of Russian armed forces to 1.5 million troops, including 695 thousand contract soldiers.
This August, Russian president Vladimir Putin already signed a decree to increase the number of the Russian Armed Forces to 2,039,758 people, including 1,150,628 military personnel. The decree comes into force on January 1, 2023. Compared to the previous decree of 2017, the number of troops will increase by 137 thousand.
A few days ago, Russian Military Commissar Mikhail Fotin said on the air of the talk show “Evening Dmitrov" that the Russians called up for military service in the spring of 2023 will serve for a year and a half, those conscripted in the fall - two years. The Russian Defense Ministry denied this report. The terms of military service are 12 months and there are no plans to change them, the Ministry said.