Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree increasing the authorized strength of the Russian army to 2,426,130 personnel. The number of service members will rise by 25,000, from 1,510,000 to 1,535,000.
This is stated in Putin’s decree published by the Russian authorities.
The document will take effect on August 1. It says the increase is linked to the creation of military construction units within the Russian Armed Forces.
Putin signed the previous decree expanding the Russian army just over a month ago. At that time, its total authorized strength was increased to 2,399,130 personnel, although the reasons for the decision were not explained.
This is already the third change to the size of the Russian army over the past six months. The previous decrees were signed in March and June 2026.
Overall, since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, Putin has increased the size of the Russian army for the sixth time.
