Putin Boosts Russian Forces By 10% As Ukraine Braces For Long War

Breaking Business Putin Boosts Russian Forces By 10% As Ukraine Braces For Long War Brian Bushard Forbes Staff I cover breaking news for Forbes New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Got it! Aug 25, 2022, 10:20am EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree on Thursday increasing Russia’s armed forces by 137,000 troops as the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine passes its six-month mark and Ukrainian officials warn the war is far from over. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin issued a decree on Thursday bolstering Russia’s armed forces as .

. . [+] its invasion of Ukraine passes its six-month mark.

(Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images Key Facts The decree bolsters Russia’s armed forces from roughly 1. 9 million to just over 2 million personnel overall, and increases the number of active service members from just over 1. 01 million to 1.

15 million, marking the first increase in the Kremlin’s armed forces in five years, according to RIA Novosti , a Russian state-owned outlet. The increase, which comes into effect January 1, 2023, comes amid reports that 80,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or injured since the start of the war in February, according to U. S.

officials —Ukrainian officials estimate they have lost 9,000 soldiers, while an estimated 5,587 Ukrainian civilians have been killed as of Monday, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. On Thursday, Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Director Oleksiy Danilov told U. S.

-funded outlet Radio Liberty that winning the war will be “very difficult,” adding “if someone thinks that we have already passed some kind of Rubicon and that the rest will be like clockwork, unfortunately, it will not be,” the New York Times reported. Danilov’s comments come one day after a Russian air strike left at least 25 dead in a train station in central Ukraine—the latest attack on Ukrainian civilians, coming amid warnings from both U. S.

officials and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Moscow could be planning “something particularly ugly” as Ukraine celebrated its independence from the Soviet Union. Putin’s decree did not specify whether it would include a draft or increase its volunteer forces, although Russian officials have stated they are seeking to attract more volunteers, hire private military contractors and offer amnesty to some prisoners willing to complete a military tour, the Associated Press reported. Key Background Russia’s invasion hit its six-month mark on Wednesday, and so far, it has devastated parts of Ukraine, particularly the eastern Donbas region, where the war has centered in recent months after Russia backed down on initial attempts to capture the capital of Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities.

Over the course of the war, Ukrainian infrastructure has suffered roughly $113. 5 billion in damage, according to the Kyiv School of Economics , and caused at least 12 million Ukrainians to flee their homes, according to the UN . Tangent Putin’s decree also comes one day after President Joe Biden announced a $3 billion arms package for Ukraine, the biggest tranche of military assistance from the U.

S. since the invasion began in February. The latest package brings America’s total military assistance to Ukraine over the course of the war to $13.

6 billion, according to the Department of Defense . The U. S.

has now committed $15. 6 billion in security to Ukraine since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Big Number 134,500.

That’s how many new conscripts entered the Russian armed forces after Putin’s latest military draft in March. At the time, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said new conscripts would not be sent to “hot spots” in Ukraine. Further Reading Putin orders increase to size of Russian armed forces (NBC News) Putin signs decree to increase size of Russian armed forces (Reuters) Russia’s Ukraine Invasion Hits 6-Month Mark—A Look At What’s Happened So Far (Forbes) Biden Announces $3 Billion Ukraine Arms Package As War Reaches Six-Month Mark (Forbes) Send me a secure tip .

Brian Bushard Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.