Russia has deployed 1,60,000 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, says Ukraine intelligence

Russia has deployed an estimated 1,60,000 troops in Ukraine since the start of its so-called special military operation on Feb. 24, the Kyiv Independent reported, citing Ukrainian intelligence. Vadym Skybytsky, a member of Ukraine's Intelligence Directorate, said the figure bars the Russian national guard members who have been tasked by the Russian ministry of defence to control the occupied regions. During the initial months of the invasion, Russia's defense ministry had acknowledged that it lost more than 1,300 soldiers in line of combat. But the US intelligence and UN figures put the death toll of Putin's forces between 10,000 to 15,000.

Russia's attempts to boost its Armed Forces 

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to boost the figure of the Armed Forces from 1,37,000 servicemen to 1.5 million (1,150,628) which is being deemed as a move to replace the significant losses of the combat troops in the Ukrainian war. "The move comes to establish the staff strength of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to 2,039,758 units, including 1,150,628 military personnel," the news decree stated, as per news agency RIA Novosti. 

The Russian Armed Forces' strength stood at 1,902,758 in accordance with the previous decree signed by Putin. As per the document published on Russia's legal information portal, the number of Russian troops will rise to 1,150,628. Moscow has also been recruiting Chechen and Syrian volunteers, and shadow paramilitary forces the Wagner group.

While the invasion entered the sixth month with troop losses on both sides, Putin's decree will come into force on 1 January 2023 that will consolidate Russia's armed forces to their fifth position in the ranks of the world's largest armed forces trailing behind China, India, the United States and North Korea. Russia's president's recent decree to boost armed forces figures is aimed at replenishing its military, which has suffered heavy losses. 

CIA director, William Burns, had said last month that there may be an estimated 15,000 Russian servicemen that have died in Ukraine, “and maybe three times that wounded”. Pavel Luzin, a Russian military expert, said Moscow's decree is contrary to the "objective reality on the ground” and that Putin will struggle to increase the number of soldiers, the Guardian newspaper reported.