Amid a stalling situation in Ukraine, Moscow’s Defence Ministry has called for the number of military personnel to be increased from 1 million to 1.5 million.
ADVERTISEMENTVladimir Putin has promised his armed forces that there will be no spending limits in pursuit of victory in Ukraine.
At an end-of-year meeting of Russia's top defence chiefs, the Russian president said: "Everything a serviceman needs should be modern, comfortable and reliable. And the supply should be based on real needs. If some departmental standards are outdated, they need to be changed quickly. I want to draw to the attention of the Minister of Defence, the Chief of the General Staff, and all the commanders who are represented here, that we have no funding restrictions."
Amid a stalling situation in Ukraine, Russia’s defence minister has called for the current size of the country’s military to be increased from 1 million to 1.5 million personnel.
Sergei Shoigu has said that the number should include 695,000 volunteer contract soldiers, although he didn’t say when the military planned to reach the increased strength.
Shoigu also said the Russian military would form new units in the country’s west, in view of plans by Finland and Sweden to join NATO.
Putin also announced that the new Zircon hypersonic missile would enter into service in Russia’s navy in January. He claims that the projectile has “no equivalent in the world”.
Along with military exercises the Russian army is currently holding in Belarus, Moscow has also begun naval manoeuvres with China, which will continue until December 27.
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