In recent days, the world has been studying the official decree of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, regarding the increase in the number of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Dated December 1, the document raised a number of questions and comments, including from analysts at the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
In its response to the decree, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation expressed the idea that the increase in the size of the army will be carried out gradually and at the expense of "volunteers". ISW analysts believe that such a "signal" may indicate the intention of the Russian authorities to continue to adapt to crypto-mobilization schemes to ensure any possible increase in the size of the military forces.
It is important to note that the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation clarified that the increase does not involve a significant involvement of new conscripts and does not indicate a second wave of mobilization. Instead, they emphasized recruiting citizens who expressed a desire to join the military under contract, which ISW analysts said could include volunteers recruited through Russia's large-scale crypto-mobilization efforts.
At the same time, American analysts believe that Putin's Decree itself may be an official recognition of the actual number of servicemen in the Russian army, and not just an order for an immediate increase. This is reflected in the actual increase in strength from 2.039 million to 2.209 million and the total number of military personnel from 1.15 million to 1.32 million.
Analysts have also pointed out that partial mobilization and large-scale crypto-mobilization efforts may explain the increase in the number of Russian military personnel between the previous decree and the current one. It is noted that the losses of Russians in Ukraine may also affect this increase.
In the light of these facts, the increase of the Russian army with the help of "volunteers" and through cryptomobilization methods remains the subject of attention and discussions in both Russian and international expert circles.
