Russian President Vladimir Putin this week ordered another expansion of Russia’s armed forces, seeking to add 15,500 troops to bring the total to 2.44 million personnel, including 1.55 million active, CNBC reported, citing a Telegram post with the official government decree.
The report said that this is the fourth time that Putin has ordered such an increase since the start of 2026, after treating such increases much more sparingly in the earlier years of the war.
Putin in 2021. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Putin in 2023. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
There had been speculation that Putin may pursue a “mobilization,” which in Russia is the equivalent of mass forced conscription, and a step Putin has not taken since the initial one in September 2022.
The expectation had been that any mobilization would come after Russia’s State Duma elections, which took place earlier this month.
High Casualty Counts in Ukraine
Why does Russia need so many new soldiers? According to several reports in recent months, including one on Monday by Mediazona, Russia has been suffering from massive casualties. Russia, that report says, has suffered 258,989 confirmed military deaths from the start of the war in 2022 through the release of the most recent numbers on September 14.
Those are the people named and identified, and Mediazona acknowledges the real number is likely much higher. Indeed, other estimates have put those numbers higher.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies, in a report in July, stated that Russia had, by that point, suffered 1.4 million battlefield casualties and “as many as” 450,000 deaths since the start of the war in 2022. The battlefield casualties figure had crossed the 1 million mark in the summer of 2025, and CSIS has been claiming for a while that Russia is losing soldiers faster than it can bring them in.
Also in July, the director of the CIA, John Radcliffe, claimed in a speech that the average life expectancy for a Russian soldier entering battle in Ukraine was just 20 to 30 minutes. According to Business Insider, Radcliffe made the claim at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit, where he attributed the short lifespans to Ukraine’s success with AI-equipped combat drones, which he called “specialized, low-cost killing machines.”
Radcliffe, in making that claim, cited “open-source reporting” from the front, although it’s unclear whether the CIA had done a full intelligence assessment of the 20-to-30-minute figure.
As Business Insider reported at the time, Russian military bloggers, some of them Kremlin-connected, had been claiming that soldiers sent to the front line had short lifespans.
Where Will They Come From?
This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also said in a social media post that Russia’s new mobilization had already begun.
Zelensky said Russia is stepping up recruitment from foreign countries and called on those governments to counter such efforts.
The Ukrainian leader also said he sees some of those troops coming from North Korea.
According to Zelensky’s social media post, Russia currently has 8,000 North Korean troops, and Russia hopes to more than double that, with “new data” showing preparations are underway to deploy 10,000 more troops, who are being trained right now.
What is North Korea getting in return for sending its soldiers to the front in Russia? According to Zelensky’s post, Russia has helped North Korea set up production of drones.
“This is how evil encroaches,” Zelensky said of Russia and North Korea’s continued alliance.
CNN had reported last month that Ukrainian intelligence had claimed North Korea had sent a drone unit to Russia, which was capable of striking inside Ukraine. The unit was said to include as many as 400 drone operators.
Spending Rises, Too
Meanwhile, Military Watch Magazine reported this week, citing documents obtained by Reuters, that in addition to increasing manpower, Russia is planning to increase military spending.
Russia plans to spend 17.1 trillion roubles ($202.6 billion) on its military in 2027, a 27 percent increase over this year, and the most Russia has spent in more than 30 years.
The country, the report said, plans to spend 50 trillion roubles (just under $600 billion) on military spending over the three-year period from 2027 to 2029.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
