In order not to escalate harsh sentiments: by increasing the army, Putin wants to solve a serious problem

What Putin is trying to achieve by increasing the army / Collage 24 Channel / Photo from RosSMI

Russia is increasing its army strength by 170 thousand – up to 1 million 320 thousand soldiers. At the same time, the total number of troops of the occupying country is set at 2 million 209 thousand 130 people.

The occupiers explain the increase in the size of the army by the growth of threats to Russia associated with the war against Ukraine and the expansion of NATO. However, the head of the Doctrine center for political studios, Yaroslav Bozhko , told Channel 24 that Vladimir Putin thus wanted to covertly continue the mobilization.

The strategy has changed

In 2022, Vladimir Putin tried to solve the personnel problem thanks to the so-called large-scale mobilization. Then the Russians mobilized more than 300 thousand military personnel. The wave of conscription exerted much greater psychological pressure on the invaders than the news of the start of the war itself.

The fact of mobilization in 2022 was demoralizing for the Russians. It led to a massive exodus of people abroad and to certain negative expectations,” said the head of the Doctrine center for political studies.

Therefore, in order to reduce negative sentiment before the elections, the Russian authorities resolved the issue in the only way – they increased the number of contract soldiers. The occupiers even created new positions for the new arrivals in highly paid soldier positions and specialties, by Russian standards.

The goal is to continue to expand the Russian army without declaring mass mobilization and maintaining a quiet tone.

Even the Russian Ministry of Defense said that due to the increase in the number of Russian military personnel by 170 thousand, there are no plans to mobilize in the country or increase conscription for military service.

It is stated that the increase in numbers is being implemented in stages by citizens who express a desire to perform military service under a contract.

Bozhko on mobilization in Russia: watch video

Partial mobilization in Russia

• Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Alexei Danilov noted that Russia does not abandon the goal of “destroying Ukraine as a state and is preparing for a long war.” According to him, “The Kremlin may launch a total mobilization after the presidential elections in March 2024.
• Vadim Skibitsky, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, commented on the mobilization campaign within Russia. In his opinion, the aggressor state is ready for the process of a large wave of mobilization: all lists have been clarified, everything has been transferred to electronic records, the requirements of legislation and the norms of the Russian Criminal Code regarding punishment for evasion of military service and desertion have been significantly tightened.
• At the same time, according to him, mass mobilization is a very powerful blow to the Russian economy, because the most able-bodied population is called upon to work and produce a product and ensure industrial activity.