Moscow wants to strengthen its armed forces in the face of what it sees as an indirect “war” with the West
The Russian Defense Minister Sergei ShoiguHe smashed the Kremlin’s plan to increase it on Tuesday Number of available soldiers up to 1.5 million. This expansion would take place between 2023 and 2026 and includes other measures such as the Creation of a new military corps in the Republic of Karelia, near the border with Finland, which will have three motorized rifle divisions as part of the ground forces and two air assault divisions in the air force. New units are also to be established in the annexed Ukrainian regions of Zaporiya, Kherson, Donetsk and Lugansk.
This measure was announced at the end of December, although the minister gave new details on this initiative on Tuesday. According to the Russian state agency TASS, the Russian armed forces 2 million peopleincluding 1.15 military personnel after a Putin decree on 1. The Defense Ministry also plans to gradually raise draft ages, 18 to 21 years in the case of military service 27 to 30 years at the maximum recruitment age.
“Russian President, Wladimir Putin, has decided to increase the number of armed forces to 1.5 million military personnel. It is only possible to ensure the state’s military security and protect new federated units and critical facilities if we strengthen the main structural components of the armed forces,” Shoigu told the media present. He also stated that they will be created two new military districts in Moscow and Leningrad. The minister pointed out with particular zeal that all measures to increase the composition and strength of the army must be combined in one overall plan and synchronized with the delivery of military equipment.
recruitment of contractors
The defense minister also reiterated that Russia “needs to focus on recruitment of contractors“. The most famous and important private armed group in the Eurasian country today is the Wagner company, headed by the so-called “Putin Koch”, Yevgeny Prigozhin. The presence of this mercenary group in various countries around the world has been confirmed and they are accused of war crimes in some of them, for example in Syria either Central African Republic.
The Kremlin spokesman for his part Dmitry Peskovreiterated this Tuesday that the “collective West” has a “Proxy war“(indirectly) against Russia, which in his opinion contains elements”economically, financially, legally“. “Hence the measures (to expand the army),” he noted.
Wagner demands more victories
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Exactly, the Wagner group that announced the capture of Soledar last week claimed fresh advances near that town, where Russian and Ukrainian forces have been fighting bitterly for several weeks. According to the company’s Telegram account, its units already control the Sil railway station and the capture of Soledar will allow them to cut communications between the cities of Siversk and Bakhmut, the next targets of the Kremlin offensive.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has suspended search and rescue operations in the rubble of an apartment building in the city of Dnipro where at least 45 people, including six children, were killed by a Russian Kh-22 missile on Saturday.