On Tuesday, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu laid out plans regarding increasing the size of Russian forces to 1.5 million by 2026, owing to the West waging a “proxy war” against Russia.
During a meeting with the deputy defence ministers, branch commanders-in-chief, and commanders, Shoigu asserted that “large-scale changes of the Armed Forces’ structure, increase in their strength, [and] amendment of military administrative structure of the Russian Federation to be introduced in 2023-2026, will require” all of them to take “relevant appropriate decisions.”
#Russian Defence Minister #Shoigu held a meeting on increasing the size of the #ArmedForces to 1.5 million from 2023 to 2026 pic.twitter.com/Qi1ZbOdLjZ
— Smriti Sharma (@SmritiSharma_) January 17, 2023
He also announced two new military districts — Moscow and Leningrad — along with an army corps in the Republic of Karelia at the Finnish border. Furthermore, Shoigu plans to “reinforce the combat element of the Navy, Aerospace Forces, and Strategic Missile Forces.”
“Only by strengthening the key structural components of the Armed Forces is it possible to guarantee the military security of the state and protect new entities and critical facilities of the Russian Federation,” he noted.
These changes are supposed to occur from 2023-2026. He also mentioned focusing on recruiting contract soldiers, and improving and increasing the number of training facilities. 3/
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) January 17, 2023
The Kremlin Blames West
Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov attributed the major changes in the Russian forces to the “proxy war” being waged against Russia by the West, specifically one including the “indirect involvement in military activities and elements of an economic war, a financial war, legal warfare, steps that go beyond the legal field, and so on.”
Peskov also emphasised that “[Russia’s] security should be fully guaranteed,” and that the Defence Ministry was “doing its job” to ensure the same.
5/ It could also establish conditions for a much more formidable Russian military threat to its neighbors, including NATO, in the coming years.
— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) January 18, 2023
Putin Backs the Proposal
These statements come against the backdrop of Russian President Vladimir Putin agreeing with Shoigu’s proposal to increase the size of the Russian military by 30%, raise the age of conscripts from 18-27 to 21-30, and deploy 20 new units at the annual Defence Ministry Board meeting last month.
Putin assured that this expansion would be done “calmly, rhythmically, without any haste and persistently,” and that Moscow would not repeat past mistakes. “We will not engage in militarisation of the country and militarisation of the economy,” he highlighted.