The Russian Armed Forces have been ordered by the country's President Vladimir Putin to expand its manpower to nearly two million by midyear, over a million of them service members, a decree published on the government online portal of legal information states.
"Establish the manpower of the Russian Armed Forces: from January 1, 2017, numbering 1,897,694 units, including 1,013,628 servicemen; from July 1, 2017, numbering 1,903,051 units, including 1,013,628 servicemen," the decree reads.
The previous decree established an 1.88-million-strong Russian Armed Forces with 1 million service members.
