Russian strongman Vladimir Putin has dictated another swelling of the Kremlin’s war machine ranks, expanding the number of men-at-arms as the conflict in Ukraine approaches its fifth year. In a decree from the Russian presidential office published yesterday, the details of the force expansion were made clear: the Russian armed forces will grow to 2,441,630, though not all will be considered active. Active service members will number 1,550,500 — an increase of 15,500. This is the fourth time this year the Russian military has expanded.
The expansion move comes on the heels of the Russian presidential election and was widely anticipated by Russia watchers.
Main battle tank T-14 object 148 on heavy unified tracked platform Armata. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
T-14 Armata. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The results of that election were decisive, and Putin’s ruling United Russia party won the lion’s share of the vote.
But the election was widely seen as manipulated and fraudulent, with several opposition parties barred from appearing on the ballot on flimsy pretexts.
The Swelling of the Russian War Machine
Writing on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained that Russia is relying on various sources of manpower to bolster its ranks — including recruitment from several foreign countries — and that Kyiv will “inform every relevant government” of Moscow’s machinations.
“We also have new data on the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia,” the Ukrainian President added. “There are currently more than 8,000 North Korean troops on Russian territory. In addition, preparations are underway to deploy another 10,000 troops – they are being selected for training and subsequent deployment to Russia.”
“In return,” he wrote, “Russia is paying, among other things, with technology: production of shahed-type attack drones has been established in North Korea with Russian technical support. This is how evil encroaches, and how a threat to life in one part of the world spreads to other parts. This can only be overcome together.”
So steep have Russian losses in Ukraine been, the country has been forced to source personnel from far-off locales including North Korea. As a consequence, Pyongyang and Moscow have pulled themselves more tightly into each other’s orbit.
North Korea previously sent a contingent of 8,000 troops to Russia’s aid in Ukraine. Though not enough on their own to turn the tide of the war in Russia’s favor, they were nonetheless a boon for the Kremlin, which, in turn, is believed to have aided the country’s missile program and potentially other parts of its military as well.
Just last year, during a meeting in Beijing, Putin expressed his gratitude to North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un. “Your soldiers fought courageously and heroically,” Putin said. “I would like to note that we will never forget the sacrifices that your armed forces and the families of your servicemen have suffered.”
As we have noted in the past, North Korea had already sent thousands of soldiers to Russia for combat in Ukraine as well as millions of artillery shells. North Korean officials have expressed on many occasions that they would aid their Russian allies in this war ‘until victory‘.
Winter Approaching
As the war in Ukraine drags on, the conflict is in a particularly dangerous phase for Ukraine’s civilian population.
Squeezed by a simultaneous war in the Middle East against Iran, the world’s supply of American-made Patriot air defense interceptor missiles is under strain.
The munitions are used by Ukrainian forces to intercept and destroy a variety of Russian munitions before they can detonate on the ground — munitions that include ballistic missiles, drones, and other weapons.
Patriot interceptors are exquisite, precise weapons regarded as highly accurate and very reliable — among the best air-defense interceptors in the world, if not the best. But they are incredibly complex to manufacture.
Their numerous subsystems must be tested and validated to ensure reliability, a manufacturing process that takes 24 to 30 months from when a Patriot missile order is placed to delivery.
In the meantime, Russia is launching increasingly sophisticated attacks at civilian sites across Ukraine, targeting some locales far afield of the capital city, Kyiv.
Those munitions have improved in technical capability, with Russia’s Geran attack drones now powered by small jet engines rather than the propeller-driven powerplants of earlier versions. Taking to his Telegram channel on Monday, Kyiv Mayor explained that 26 people were injured and two killed as a result of Russian targeting.
With the war in Iran dragging on, and with a diplomatic solution seemingly nowhere in sight, the need for Patriot air defense interceptors amongst America’s Middle Eastern allies will likely remain high for some time yet to come.
In the meantime, critical infrastructure across Ukraine remains in the Kremlin’s crosshairs ahead of Ukraine’s bitterly cold winter months.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the shifting battle lines in the Donbas and writing about its civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
