{"id":1829750,"date":"2023-01-31T08:35:12","date_gmt":"2023-01-31T13:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1829750"},"modified":"2023-01-31T08:36:48","modified_gmt":"2023-01-31T13:36:48","slug":"are-russias-plans-for-army-reform-realistic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/are-russias-plans-for-army-reform-realistic\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Russia\u2019s Plans for Army Reform Realistic?"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fare-russias-plans-for-army-reform-realistic%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1829750&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47-->\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/64385587_6.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\"   style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n<p>Russia announced recently that it would increase its armed forces by 350,000 more soldiers, bringing the total to 1.5 million. Sergei Shoigu, the Defense Minister, stated that this was a justification for Russia&#8217;s decision to increase its armed forces by 350,000 soldiers to a total of 1.5 million personnel. &#8220;military security of the nation,&#8221; As well as the &#8220;new subjects&#8221;\u00a0\u2014 as he called\u00a0the\u00a0<a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/russia-ukraine-updates-putin-signs-laws-illegally-annexing-4-ukrainian-regions\/a-63337587\">Ukrainian territories illegally annexed<\/a> \u2014 and the country&#8217;s\u00a0&#8220;critical infrastructure&#8221;\u00a0Could only be secured &#8220;if the most crucial components of the armed forces are reinforced.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Shoigu says that the reform will start in this year and end in 2026. It has three goals: it will restore the former military areas of Moscow and Leningrad (today&#8217;s St. Petersburg), create new troop forces in illegally occupied territories in Ukraine, as well as establish 12 mobile units.<\/p>\n<h2>Finland gets a new army corps at its border\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>Another corps is planned for Karelia, north-east of St. Petersburg. It will include three motorized rifle units as ground forces and two airborne troop divisions.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The corps in Karelia is a response to NATO&#8217;s expansion,&#8221;\u00a0said\u00a0Israeli military expert David Sharp, who is from Ukraine. Finland is bordered by the Russian Karelia region. <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/nato-chief-says-its-time-to-welcome-finland-sweden\/a-63643751\">NATO membership requested<\/a> Along with Sweden.<\/p>\n<div class=\"vjs-wrapper embed big\">\n<h2 aria-label=\"Embedded video \u2014 Putin: &#039;No limit&#039; on equipping Russia&#039;s army\" class=\"headline\">Putin: Russia will not limit its ability to equip its army<\/h2><source src=\"https:\/\/hlsvod.dw.com\/i\/dwtv_video\/flv\/je\/je20221221_QPUTIN20C_,AVC_480x270,AVC_512x288,AVC_640x360,AVC_960x540,AVC_1280x720,AVC_1920x1080,.mp4.csmil\/master.m3u8\" type=\"application\/x-mpegURL\" \/><source src=\"https:\/\/tvdownloaddw-a.akamaihd.net\/dwtv_video\/flv\/je\/je20221221_QPUTIN20C_AVC_1920x1080.mp4\" type=\"video\/mp4\" \/><p class=\"vjs-no-js\">JavaScript is required in order to view the video. Upgrade to a web browser. <a href=\"https:\/\/videojs.com\/html5-video-support\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Supports HTML5 video<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Sharp,\u00a0<a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/war-in-ukraine\/t-60931789\">Russia&#8217;s war against Ukraine<\/a> The Russian military has proven that they are unable to fulfill their mission of occupying Ukraine. Moscow wants to reorganize its troops and not only beef up its army.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The reform is meant to to speed up the transition from brigades to divisions, which would give\u00a0the units more autonomy. The changes are directed more toward\u00a0long-term goals, rather\u00a0than to\u00a0correcting the current situation on the front [in Ukraine],&#8221; He stated.<\/p>\n<h2>How will you recruit new soldiers?<\/h2>\n<p>The most important point of the announced reform \u2014\u00a0the increase of the army by 350,000 troops \u2014 has\u00a0raised\u00a0questions among observers.\u00a0How will these new fighters be recruited<\/p>\n<p>Russia currently has military service for all men between the ages 18 and 27. Every year, 270,000 people are drafted for one year in spring and autumn. This is just a small portion of the total age cohort. Many men have been able. <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/escape-from-conscription-russian-draft-evaders-in-germany\/a-64201722\">avoid conscription<\/a>, for example,\u00a0by studying at a university or bribing authorities.<\/p>\n<p>Now, however, the age of compulsory military service\u00a0is to be raised from 21 to 30 years of age. &#8220;This is part of the reform. Eighteen-year-old recruits are still just \u2018children&#8217; and hardly fit for battle. But 27-to-30-year-olds are physically stronger and have already completed their education, and that can benefit the army,&#8221; Sharp. Sharp believes that more conscripts may be called to service in the future.<\/p>\n<p>However, the first step will be to increase the upper age limit to 30 in spring. The minimum age requirement for conscription will be increased at a later date. It has not yet been determined. This will increase the number of conscripts by approximately 2 million men.<\/p>\n<p><span data-slot-id=\"Article_InContent-1\" class=\"rich-text-ad\"><\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Are you seeing another mobilization?<\/h2>\n<p>Meanwhile, speculation\u00a0about another troop mobilization has not abated. Recently, the Kremlin confirmed that the September presidential decree ordering another troop mobilization was valid. <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/russias-partial-mobilization\/t-63245234\">partial mobilization<\/a> amid ongoing fighting in Ukraine\u00a0was still in effect.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If we look at the course of this war, then this announced reform can only be made possible with an additional mobilization. In order to increase the army to 1.5 million soldiers, hundreds of thousands of men will need to be called up. The number of soldiers is the only trump card Russia has left,&#8221; Sharp.<\/p>\n<p>Andriy Rychenko, a former deputy chief of staff for the Ukrainian Navy, believes Russia has little to gain from further mobilization. He believes the army\u00a0is still too occupied dealing with the new recruits from the first mobilization.<\/p>\n<div class=\"vjs-wrapper embed big\">\n<h2 aria-label=\"Embedded video \u2014 New Russian conscripts lack equipment\" class=\"headline\">Russian conscripts are without equipment<\/h2><source src=\"https:\/\/hlsvod.dw.com\/i\/dwtv_video\/flv\/js\/js20221014_Recruits03e_,AVC_480x270,AVC_512x288,AVC_640x360,AVC_960x540,AVC_1280x720,AVC_1920x1080,.mp4.csmil\/master.m3u8\" type=\"application\/x-mpegURL\" \/><source src=\"https:\/\/tvdownloaddw-a.akamaihd.net\/dwtv_video\/flv\/js\/js20221014_Recruits03e_AVC_1920x1080.mp4\" type=\"video\/mp4\" \/><p class=\"vjs-no-js\">JavaScript is required in order to view the video. Upgrade to a web browser. <a href=\"https:\/\/videojs.com\/html5-video-support\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Supports HTML5 video<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;New recruits will only sit around with nothing to do,&#8221; He said that the Kremlin has so far failed to make up its losses with new recruits.<\/p>\n<p>Ryzhenko is not optimistic that the reform will bring about significant changes in the matter.\u00a0&#8220;Russia has suffered very heavy losses since the beginning of the war, and it needs to make up for that. But the new soldiers are not expected at the front until before next winter,&#8221; He stated.<\/p>\n<h2>How will this new reform be funded?<\/h2>\n<p>This planned personnel increase is the second since Russia&#8217;s war against Ukraine in February. In August, President Vladimir Putin grew the maximum contingent to 140,000 men.\u00a0Together with the additional 350,000 troops announced this week, this would amount to almost half a million new soldiers who will have to be equipped with weapons and uniforms \u2014\u00a0an enormous burden on the state budget.<\/p>\n<p>The following are the highlights <a class=\"internal-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/eu-agrees-new-sanctions-against-russia-at-end-of-year-summit\/a-64102016\">Moscow&#8217;s oil-and-gas revenues are declining<\/a>\u00a0Can the Kremlin afford to increase its defense spending because of international sanctions? &#8220;This reform requires many resources, not just money and personnel. It requires equipment and infrastructure for the 350,000 conscripts. In addition, specialists are needed to train new recruits,&#8221; Sharp.<\/p>\n<p>He believes that most units newly formed will exist only in name, and will not be eligible for military equipment. &#8220;A\u00a0significant part of the\u00a0promises made by this reform appear unrealistic,&#8221; He added.<\/p>\n<p>According to Ryzhenko, it costs about $80,000 (\u20ac73,600) to fully equip a soldier. Given these high costs\u00a0and the shrinking state earnings, he, too, is doubtful that the announced reform can be implemented. He also pointed out that Russia\u00a0depends on foreign components for its military equipment.<\/p>\n<p>Ryzhenko is also convinced that such a move would not be popular among the public.\u00a0&#8220;At the end of the day, many Russians are reluctant to go to war,&#8221; He stated.<\/p>\n<p><em>This article was originally published by Russian.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Russia announced recently that it would increase its armed forces by 350,000 more soldiers, bringing the total to 1.5 million. Sergei Shoigu, the Defense Minister, stated that this was a justification for Russia&#8217;s decision to increase its armed forces by 350,000 soldiers to a total of 1.5 million personnel. &#8220;military security of the nation,&#8221; As &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1829753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[4367,3641,17078,4353,9987],"class_list":["post-1829750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-army","tag-plans","tag-realistic","tag-reform","tag-russias"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1829750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1829750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1829750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1829753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1829750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1829750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1829750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}