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The Kremlin spokesman once again denounced the proxy war the U.S. and its allies are waging against Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that Russia's goal of 1.5 million troops for its standing army responds to the need for security in the face of the proxy war being waged against Moscow by the U.S. and its allies.
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Speaking to the press, the spokesman said that the Defense Ministry must ensure Russia's security and added that work is currently underway to increase its standing army to 1.5 million troops.
According to Peskov, in the context of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Russia must address security issues in the face of the proxy war unleashed against it by the U.S. and its allies.
In this regard, the Kremlin spokesman said that "the proxy war includes elements of indirect participation in military action, elements of economic war, financial war, lawfare."
⚡️The planned increase in the number of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to 1.5 million is due to the proxy war that the collective West is leading against Russia, said the press secretary of the head of the Russian state Dmitry Peskov. pic.twitter.com/fgixndVR6f
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) January 17, 2023
The proposal to increase the number of Russian troops in active military service to 1.5 million came from Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu at a ministerial meeting on December 21.
On that occasion, the Minister said that career soldiers and officers serving under contract should make up approximately 695 000 of that number, with the remainder enlisting through compulsory military service.
On Tuesday, Shoigu told a Defense Ministry meeting that between 2023 and 2026, the target troop increase is scheduled to be carried out along with other military changes, such as the addition of Moscow and Leningrad to Russia's current five military districts.
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