Over 117,000 men volunteer to join Russian Army in 2023

More than 117,000 people have joined the Russian Armed Forces on contract and volunteer basis since January of this year, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said.

"According to the Ministry of Defence, as a result of the measures taken <…> from January 1 to May 19, 117,400 people were accepted into the ranks of the Armed Forces on a contract basis and as part of our voluntary formations,” he said.

In August last year, President Vladimir Putin set the stuff number of the Russian Army at 2,039,758, of which 1,150,628 were servicemen. The number of military men in the Russian Armed Forces was previously changed in November 2017, when it was set at 1,902,758 people, including 1,013,628 servicemen.

In December, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu proposed to increase the size of the army to 1.5 million servicemen, including up to 695,000 contract soldiers, in order to ensure military security of the country.