NATO General Says The Number Of Russian Army Soldiers Is Increasing But Its Quality Is Declining

Admiral Rob Bauer. (Twitter/@CMC_NATO)

JAKARTA - The number of Russian Army troops is now greater than during the massive Moscow invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but its quality has declined since then, a top military official for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said Monday.

"The quality of these troops has decreased," said NATO Military Committee Chairman Admiral Rob Bauer, pointing to the condition of troop equipment and the training level of its soldiers.

"Currently, Russia is no longer a threat like in February 2022, so we have little time to prepare ourselves," he said, adding this meant increasing investment into the defense industry.

Meanwhile, citing RBC Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Vladimir Putin has issued a mission to increase the number of Russian troops by 180,000 to 1.5 million people starting December 1, 2024.

According to sources at the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Russian military in Ukraine currently has around 574-575,000 personnel. Moscow wants to increase its troop number to 690,000 by the end of this year.

Currently, a group of North Korean soldiers consisting of 11,000 personnel are stationed in the Kursk area. In total, the group of Russian troops in the Kursk region now stands at 59,000 people.

Since the onset of a massive invasion of Ukraine, Russia has lost more than 700.000 soldiers who were killed and injured.

According to British intelligence in October, the average daily loss of Russian troops in the war in Ukraine reached a new high.