Russia to Increase Military Personnel by 140,000 Next Year... Worsening Shortage of Troops for Frontline Maintenance

Estimated 80,000 Casualties in Ukraine War... Damage Scale Expands
New Recruit Salaries Increased 10-Fold... But Recruitment Avoidance Rises

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Russia announced that it will increase its military personnel by nearly 140,000 compared to the current number starting next year. This is presumed to be due to the worsening shortage of troops needed to maintain the existing front lines, as the total casualties have reportedly exceeded 80,000 since the invasion of Ukraine in February. Various measures are being considered within Russia to expand recruitment, but it is known that recruitment is facing difficulties as public resentment against the invasion of Ukraine grows.

According to Russia's TASS news agency on the 25th (local time), Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a presidential decree to increase the Russian military personnel from about 1,013,000 to 1,150,000, an increase of 137,000. The decree is scheduled to take effect from January 1 of next year.

As the invasion of Ukraine enters its sixth month, the background for Russia's large-scale troop increase is interpreted as the difficulty in maintaining the front lines due to the expansion of casualties. According to CNN, Ukrainian and Western intelligence agencies estimate Russian military casualties at around 80,000. More than 40% of the 200,000 troops initially mobilized at the beginning of the conflict have become combat ineffective, exacerbating the shortage of personnel.

Due to the shortage of troops, the Russian military is reportedly struggling significantly on key fronts. According to the U.S. Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the Russian military has still not secured major cities in Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine, which has been designated as a key objective since last month, and is struggling with an average advance speed of less than 3 km on the eastern front this month.

As news of the Russian military's difficulties spreads, recruitment within Russia is becoming increasingly challenging. To expand recruitment, the Russian government recently allowed prisoners and elderly people to enlist. Although the monthly salary for new recruits was raised more than tenfold from 30,000 rubles (about 670,000 KRW) to 300,000 rubles, it is reported that more people are avoiding enlistment.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.