Putin boosts troop numbers as missiles pummel Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin yesterday ordered the regular size of the Russian army to increase by 180,000 troops to 1.5 million soldiers, the third time he has expanded its ranks since sending the military into Ukraine in February 2022.

- ALEXANDER BUTLER

In a decree published on the Kremlin’s website, Mr Putin ordered the overall size of the armed forces to be increased to 2.38 million people, of which he said 1.5 million should be active servicemen and women.

Mr Putin since 2022 had previously ordered two official increases in the number of combat troops – by 137,000 and 170,000 respectively. In addition, Russia mobilised over 300,000 soldiers in September and October 2022 in an exercise which prompted tens of thousands of draft-age men to flee the country.

The Kremlin has said that no new mobilisation is planned for now, however, and that the idea is to continue to rely on volunteers signing up to fight in Ukraine on lucrative contracts.

The new order came as Ukraine fought off a massive Russian drone barrage across Ukraine – including the capital Kyiv – in the latest aerial assault of Vladimir Putin’s 30-month-old invasion.

Ukraine’s air force shot down 53 out of 56 Russian drones launched overnight as one person was injured and five homes were damaged in the Kyiv region. Air defence units destroyed nearly 20 drones that were heading towards Kyiv, the Ukrainian military said.

Meanwhile Russian troops continue to advance on Pokrovsk, a key city in eastern Ukraine key to Mr Putin’s objective of seizing the entire Donbas region, comprising of Donetsk and Luhansk.