Record spending and army expansion: Russia continues scaling military resources

29.09.2026, 09:53 rubryka.com

According to the decree published on Russia's official portal of legal acts, the document took effect on Monday. Under its terms, the authorized strength of the Russian Armed Forces now stands at 2,441,630 personnel, including 1,550,500 military service members.

Before the change introduced in July, the authorized strength of the Russian army stood at 2,426,130 personnel, of which 1,535,000 were military service members.

This decision marks the fourth increase in Russian troop numbers since the start of the year and the seventh since the beginning of the full-scale war against Ukraine.

In late July, Putin signed a decree increasing the Russian Armed Forces by 25,000 personnel. The document explained that the expansion aimed to create military construction units within the Russian army.

Before that, on June 12, authorities increased the number of Russian military service personnel to 1,510,000—an increase of 10,000. At that time, total army strength reached 2,399,130 personnel.

Earlier in March, total authorized Russian troop strength rose to 2,391,770 personnel.

Against the backdrop of steady increases in the army's personnel, Russian authorities also plan to boost defense spending next year significantly.

As revealed in the draft federal budget for 2027, Russia allocated 17.1 trillion rubles ($183 billion) for the army and weapons procurement. According to Russia's Ministry of Finance, this represents a 32% increase compared to the 2026 budget, which earmarked 12.9 trillion rubles for these purposes.

Under the draft budget law, which the Russian government approved this week and will submit to the State Duma on October 1, the military will account for 35% of all federal budget expenditures next year—a new record high since the Soviet era.

On average, the war will cost Russian taxpayers 1.42 trillion rubles per month. Daily, this amounts to 46.9 billion rubles, or nearly 2 billion rubles per hour.

Furthermore, the Russian government does not anticipate significant reductions in military expenditure in the coming years. For 2028, defense spending is budgeted at 16.6 trillion rubles, or 32.6% of total expenditures, while 2029 defense costs are projected at 16.3 trillion rubles, representing 30.4% of total spending.

As previously reported, total combat losses of Russian personnel since the start of the full-scale invasion have surpassed 1.5 million killed and wounded. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine identified this figure as the heaviest losses suffered by the Russian army in a single war since World War II.

In July, the Russian army lost 42,860 troops killed and wounded on the frontline—the highest monthly figure since January 2025 and among the largest totals since the full-scale war began.

Background

Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service previously reported a slowdown in contract recruitment rates across Russia for the war against Ukraine. By early July, Russian recruiters failed to meet even half of their annual quota, prompting the Kremlin to actively recruit students, residents of occupied territories, and foreign migrants to cover losses.

Additionally, the Russian Federation plans to deploy approximately 30,000 additional troops from North Korea, with accommodation facilities already under preparation in the Voronezh region. Preparations for new deliveries of North Korean missile weaponry to Russia are also underway.

Amid personnel shortages in the Russian army, additional North Korean units offer Moscow a way to offset recruitment difficulties. Over the first half of 2026, Russia trained approximately 8,000 specialists for unmanned systems forces—roughly a quarter of its target goal of 34,400 personnel.

In late May, ISW noted that Ukraine disrupted Russia's numerical superiority strategy, as drones and medium-range strikes enable Ukrainian forces to destroy human resources and equipment faster than Moscow can replace them.