Russian Armed Forces Ordered to Increase Manpower to 1.9 Mln Personnel in July

The Russian Armed Forces have been ordered 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 Wednesday states.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The previous decree established an 1.88-million-strong Russian Armed Forces with 1 million service members.

"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.