Behind Putin's Latest Military Expansion: Strategic Goals Amid Stalled Advances

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered another military expansion, adding 15,500 military personnel as Moscow’s battlefield advances in Ukraine have stalled after more than four and a half years of fighting. Putin signed the decree on Sunday, marking the fourth time this year the president has increased the authorised size of the Russian military. Together, the orders have added 47,860 military personnel since March. This comes as both sides have increasingly been relying on drones and long-range strikes against each other. Ukraine, meanwhile, has repeatedly accused Moscow of preparing another mobilisation – something Putin has dismissed as Ukrainian “disinformation”.

“The authorised personnel strength of the Russian armed forces is to be set at 2,441,630 units, including 1,550,500 military personnel,” the decree said. It did not elaborate on why the additional troops were needed or how they would be recruited. Putin had already issued orders expanding the military in March, June and July. Andrei Kortunov, director general of the Russian International Affairs Council, dubbed the expansion technical. “This is mostly a technical decision rather than a strategic shift. It is technical in the sense that another 15,000 will not change the conflict dynamics,” he told Al Jazeera.

The Kremlin has not publicly given a reason for the increase, but the order comes as Russia faces mounting human and material losses together with limited territorial gains. Ukraine expert Olena Halushka says Russia’s war effort is not going according to plan, noting that Putin's latest decree should be viewed in the context of efforts to expand manpower for a protracted war. Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine continue to exchange major aerial attacks as the ground war moves slowly, with recent strikes impacting cities like Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhia. Diplomatic efforts have also resumed, with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner travelling to Moscow and Kyiv to discuss potential negotiations, though fundamental disagreements over territory and NATO ambitions remain.