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Putin orders Russian military to start beefing up in 2023

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian military to increase the size of the country's armed forces by 137,000 amid Moscow’s military action in Ukraine

Via AP news wire
Thursday 25 August 2022 13:32 BST
Russia Putin
Russia Putin (Copyright 2022 Sputnik)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian military to increase the size of the country's armed forces by 137,000 amid Moscow’s military action in Ukraine.

Putin’s decree signed Thursday didn’t explain whether the military will beef up its ranks by drafting a bigger number of conscripts, increasing the number of volunteer soldiers or using a combination of both.

The Kremlin has said that only volunteer contract soldiers take part in what it calls the “special military operation” in Ukraine, rejecting claims that it was pondering a broad mobilization.

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