Russia is suffering heavy losses in Ukraine. Now President Vladimir Putin is expanding the army by another 15,500 soldiers. This is the fourth consecutive increase in the army since the beginning of 2026.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree increasing the army by another 15,500 soldiers. "The permissible personnel of the Russian Armed Forces is set at 2,441,630 people, of which 1,550,500 are military personnel," the decree states. Putin announced army expansions in March, June and July.
Kiev has repeatedly accused Moscow of preparing a new mobilization. And Putin calls this "disinformation". At the same time, Russia has made only minor territorial gains in the war with Ukraine.
Massive increase in military spending
Increases in military spending are also expected in Russia. For 2027, spending is planned in an amount equivalent to about 178 billion euros, as is clear from government documents available to the "Reuters" news agency. This corresponds to an increase of about 27 percent compared to the initially planned budget and would be a new record since the beginning of the war against Ukraine.
Zelensky accuses Russia of preparing a new mobilization
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia has already begun additional mobilization. "They (the Russians) also plan to involve more and more foreigners", Zelensky said in his evening video address, citing information from Ukrainian intelligence services.
In addition, Zelensky mentioned new information about the presence of North Korean soldiers in Russia. "Currently, there are over 8,000 North Korean soldiers on Russian territory," the Ukrainian president said. Russia is paying for this, among other things, with technology, and in exchange for this assistance, the production of "Shahed" drones has begun on North Korean territory - with technical support from Russia.