Why has Putin added 15,000 new soldiers to Russia’s army?
The move marks the fourth military expansion this year as Russia's war in Ukraine seemingly stalls.
Russia has announced a 27% increase in its defense budget for 2027, raising total military spending to a record 17.1 trillion rubles ($202.6 billion). This is despite the country facing a widening budget deficit and falling oil and gas revenues. The planned 50 trillion ruble ($602.3 billion) defense budget over the next three years marks the highest level since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Russia's budget deficit is projected to widen to 3.2% of GDP in 2026 from 1.6% previously estimated, while overall government spending is expected to rise 13.2% to 48.6 trillion rubles (20.9% of GDP). Net borrowing is expected to increase by 26% to 5 trillion rubles in 2026, with 459 billion rubles withdrawn from the National Wealth Fund. Oil and gas revenues are forecast at 7.6 trillion rubles for 2026, down from 8.9 trillion.
In addition to the increased defense spending, Russian President Vladimir Putin has raised the authorized size of the Russian Armed Forces to 2.44 million people, including 1.55 million military personnel. This is a 15,500-person increase from the previous decree and the fourth such increase in 2026, the seventh since the start of the Ukraine invasion.
Written by urgent.news from Euromaidan Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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