Russia to boost troops in its west with army expansion

MOSCOW - Russia will create new commands near Europe as it expands its military to 1.5 million men amid deepening tensions with the United States and its allies over the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.

New structures in the regions around Moscow, Leningrad (now St Petersburg) and Karelia on the border with Finland will be created under the programme, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told commanders on Tuesday.

Mr Shoigu said the major changes will start in 2023 and continue through 2026, adding that “self-sufficient” units will be set up on the Ukrainian territories that Russia has annexed.

President Vladimir Putin in December approved Mr Shoigu’s plan to boost the size of Russia’s military from the current target level of 1.15 million, but the Kremlin has not said how fast that will take place. 

Mr Shoigu said the expansion will be spread across all branches of Russia’s military and will be coordinated with the delivery of new weapons to equip them, the Defence Ministry said, according to Interfax news agency.

Russia will create three new motorised-infantry divisions and two airborne divisions, combining a number of brigades, Mr Shoigu said in comments posted on the ministry’s Telegram channel. He also called for special attention to the recruitment of contract soldiers to fill out the ranks of the expanded military.

Since ordering the invasion nearly a year ago, Mr Putin has laid plans to reverse years of reductions in the ranks of Russia’s military.

The Kremlin has not said how it will recruit all the new troops, but has proposed raising the draft age, which may increase the number of men eligible for conscription. BLOOMBERG