Putin increases Russia's army size for the fourth time this year

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new decree on Monday increasing the numerical strength of the country's armed forces. According to the document, the army will be expanded by 15,500 troops.

Following the decree, the total personnel count of Russia's armed forces is set at 2,441,630, including 1,550,500 military servicemen.

Fourth order this year

This marks the fourth time this year that Putin has signed a decree increasing the army's numerical strength, following similar decisions in March, June and July. Since March, the total increase in military personnel has reached 47,860 troops.

The series of decrees points to a sustained trend of expanding Russia's military personnel numbers, which has continued over several consecutive months.