It is possible that the Russian military is prioritizing recruitment as part of a longer-term effort to create a post-war strategic reserve for a potential future conflict with NATO.
Ukrainian officials recently clarified that the presidential decree of September 2022 does not exclude the possibility of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy negotiating with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
This is stated in the daily analysis of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The Commander of the US European Command (EUCOM) and Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) General Christopher Cavoli informed in April 2025 the US Senate Armed Services Committee that the Russian military is rebuilding and expanding its force structure and materiel production at a faster pace than most Western analysts had expected, despite suffering an estimated 790,000 casualties since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Cavoli stated that the Russian military command has deployed over 600,000 troops to the front lines in Ukraine, almost double the initial size of Russia's invasion force and consistent with the Syrsky report, which stated that there were 623,000 Russian servicemen in Ukraine.
In September 2024, Putin signed a decree ordering the Russian military to create 1.5 million combat-ready forces, indicating its long-term interest in increasing the size of the Russian military.
Cavoli's report is in line with recent reports that Russia is expanding and modernizing military bases, barracks, training grounds, warehouses, and railways near Petrozavodsk, Republic of Karelia, to support future influxes of personnel.
Russia is also integrating railways and roads in the Moscow Military District (MVO) with Belarusian infrastructure. ISW has long assessed that Russia’s reconstitution of the Moscow and Leningrad Military Districts (LMDs) is part of the Kremlin’s long-term restructuring efforts to prepare for a potential large-scale conventional war against NATO.
The Russian military command appears to be creating a tactical doctrine and force structure for motorcycle and civilian vehicle units in frontal assaults, underscoring the Russian military’s efforts to offset the advantages of Ukrainian drones and achieve maneuverability in modern ground warfare.
The Russian military is reportedly generating sufficient forces to replace losses and is increasing the size of the Russian force grouping in Ukraine, despite experiencing increased casualties per square kilometer gained.
Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be accepting significant losses in exchange for diminishing returns in order to achieve battlefield successes and manage perceptions of Russia's military capabilities to put pressure on Ukraine in negotiations.