On Friday, December 1, Putin signed a decree increasing the strength of the Russian Armed Forces to 2.209 million people. According to the document, which is posted on the Kremlin website, the number of military personnel should increase to 1.32 million people. This is 170 thousand more than required by Putin’s previous similar decree , signed in August 2022, a few weeks before the mobilization was announced.
According to the expert, as early as December in Russia they may resume conscription for mobilization and call up approximately the same number of military personnel from the reserve as last year. “Perhaps this is precisely what explains the unprecedented mass raids on conscripts during the current draft - military registration and enlistment offices may be in a hurry to fulfill the plan in order to prepare for the mobilization call,” suggests Krivenko.