350,000 additional forces
London: Army build-up will be difficult for Russia
01/22/2023, 11:30 am
By 2026, Russia wants to increase its troop strength from 1.15 to 1.5 million soldiers and create new military structures. However, according to British intelligence, the Kremlin will have trouble mustering enough forces and equipment.
According to British estimates, Russia will find it difficult to implement the announced significant increase in its military. “Russia will most likely have difficulties in finding personnel and equipment for the planned expansion,” said the Ministry of Defense in London in its daily Intelligence Briefing with.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu recently announced, among other things, that he wanted to increase the number of troops from 1.15 to 1.5 million soldiers – 11 percent more than the initially announced increase to 1.35 million soldiers. The recruitment of the 350,000 additional armed forces and the renewal of the structures are to be completed between 2023 and 2026. “Shoygu’s plans signal that the Russian leadership most likely assumes that an increased conventional military threat will persist for many years beyond the current Ukraine war,” it said in London.
In addition to the increase in troops, Shoigu announced that two large territorial units should be created that combine several branches of arms; the Moscow and Leningrad Military Districts. Independent military units are also to be set up in the Ukrainian areas annexed by Russia. In addition, Shoigu announced the establishment of an army corps in the northern Russian republic of Karelia.
The British Ministry of Defense has been publishing daily information on the course of the war since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine at the end of February last year, citing intelligence information. In doing so, the British government wants to both counter the Russian portrayal and keep allies in line. Moscow accuses London of a targeted disinformation campaign.