According to a Kremlin decree, the authorized strength of Russia’s Armed Forces now stands at 2,391,770 people, including 1,502,640 service members. But officials in Ukraine say Putin didn’t actually increase anything.
Officially, Russian media on March 4 ran headlines saying Vladimir Putin “set a new authorized strength for the Armed Forces of Russia.” The corresponding decree by the Russian leader was published Wednesday, March 4, on the legal acts portal. Ukrainian experts, however, point out that despite the eye-catching figure-nearly 2.4 million-this is mere sleight of hand. Focus
Russian outlets reported the army “increase” sparingly and noted that Putin’s new decree takes effect the day it was signed. The previous decree - from September 2024 - is deemed no longer in force. That earlier version set the authorized strength of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation at 2,389,130 “units,” including 1,500,000 service members.
Under the new decree, the authorized strength is 2,391,770 people, including 1,502,640 service members. Only a few Russian outlets published such “detailed” comparisons. Most simply posted Putin’s decree without any explanation.
This was also flagged by Petro Andryushchenko, head of the Center for the Study of Occupation.
“Right now, the ‘2.4 million’ headline is everywhere. But it’s worth clarifying immediately: this figure isn’t new. Putin set this maximum staffing level for Russia’s Armed Forces back in 2024, and it hasn’t changed since,” Andryushchenko said.
He published preliminary figures on the size of Russia’s army:
- 2024 (and the new 2026 decree) - 2,389,130 total, including 1.5 million service members.
- December 2023 - 2,209,130 total, including 1.32 million service members.
- August 2022 - roughly 2.04 million total, including 1.15 million service members.
- Before the full-scale invasion (2021) - just over 1 million service members.
In other words, there has been no new increase. In practice, the decree merely reiterates an existing cap.
Andryushchenko added that this, if anything, underscores systemic recruitment problems in the Russian army. Even with a formally authorized strength of 2.4 million, Russia has not been able to fill the ranks in reality.
As Focus previously reported, while Moscow publicly talks about negotiations, a very different scenario may be in the works behind the lines - a new wave of mobilization.
And on February 19, The Economist published an article explaining why the war in Ukraine has become a trap for Putin - and why he cannot end it, even if he wanted to.
