Russia is building a strategic reserve of new soldiers from July 2025. This is reported by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), citing a Russian source, writes focus.de.
According to the information, 292,000 new recruits signed contracts with the Russian army between the beginning of 2025 and mid-September. However, many of these recruits will not be sent to the front immediately - as in other years - but will be placed in a strategic reserve. The source did not specify exactly how many soldiers this reserve will consist of.
Russia may currently be able to afford to build a strategic reserve because fewer soldiers are being wounded or killed on the battlefield. The Ukrainian General Staff reports that between January and July 2025, there were between 32,000 and 48,000 Russian casualties per month. These numbers declined in August (29,000) and September (13,000 by mid-month).
Experts write that this may have convinced Putin’s military that they can build up a strategic reserve while simultaneously advancing along the front line. The Russians are now trying to advance in small groups and infiltrate Ukrainian lines.
The Russian leader is sticking to his battlefield goals. He is not seeking a quick end to the war, otherwise he would send all the new recruits to the front as quickly as possible. The Russian president hopes that Russian troops will continue to slowly make territorial gains. In this way, Putin intends to win the war of attrition against Ukraine.
Putin needs a strategic reserve to plan for possible new, large-scale offensive attacks against Ukraine. And this could be part of his considerations not only to further provoke NATO, but also to attack it in the future. The latter is also supported by the recent expansion of Russia's military recruitment program.