Putin signs decree increasing Russian armed forces personnel ceiling to over 2.44 million
Quick Look
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree setting the authorized strength of the Russian armed forces at 2,441,630 personnel, including 1,550,500 active service members, increasing the personnel ceiling by 15,500 from the previous decree in July and bringing the total increase since March 2026 to 49,860.
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Why It Matters
The decree updates previous personnel ceilings set in March and July 2026, reflecting a series of increases in the authorized strength of the Russian armed forces over several months.
MOSCOW, September 29. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to set the authorized strength of the Russian armed forces at over 2.44 million people, including 1.55 million active service members.
The decree, published on Russia’s official legal information database, instructs "to establish the authorized strength of the Russian Armed Forces at 2,441,630 personnel, including 1,550,500 service members."
"The government of the Russian Federation is to provide for the allocation of federal budget appropriations, necessary for the implementation of Paragraph 1 of the decree," the document reads.
The previous presidential decree on the matter, dated June 12, 2026, "shall be recognized as having lost force."
In late July, the Russian president set the personnel ceiling of the Russian armed forces at 2,426,130 people, including 1,535,000 active service members in a decree effective from August 1.
Therefore, the personnel ceiling of the Russian armed forces grew by 15,500 people.
Prior to that, the president has raised the authorized strength of the Russian armed forces in March. In all, troop numbers grew by 49,860 people in total between March and September 2026.
Open Questions
- What specific budget allocations will fund the increase in personnel?
- How will the expanded force be structured or deployed?
- What is the strategic rationale behind the incremental troop increases?
- Are further increases planned beyond September 2026?
