According to reports from Russian media, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on July 27, ordering the establishment of several military construction engineering units, which will push the total strength of the Russian armed forces to over 2.42 million people.
The decree, published on the official Russian legal information portal, shows that Putin signed the order to modify a previous decree from June 12, in order to form these new military construction units. The total strength of the Russian armed forces is now set at over 2.42 million, including 1.535 million active servicemen.
The earlier decree signed by Putin in June had set the total strength of the Russian armed forces at about 2.39 million, with 1.51 million active personnel.
The latest decree means the total strength of the Russian armed forces will increase by 27,000, with the number of active servicemen rising by 25,000. The new order is set to take effect on August 1st.