MOSCOW, Aug 25 (TASS): Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a decree to increase the standard strength of the armed forces by 137,000 men. The decree, uploaded to the official legal information portal, will come into force on January 1, 2023.

According to the decree, the standard strength of the Russian armed forces next year will be set at 2,039,758, including 1,150,628 servicemen.

Under the previous decree, declared as void, established the armed forces’ strength at 1,902,758, including 1,013,628 servicemen. It was effective starting from January 1, 2018.

The Defense Ministry has no plans for abolishing conscription. According to Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, the number of contract servicemen in the Russian armed forces at the end of 2015 reached 352,000, for the first time exceeding the number of conscript soldiers and sailors (297,000). Also, the Russian army had about 270,000 commissioned officers and ensigns and warrant officers. The Defense Ministry’s plan for 2019-2025 envisages an increase in the number of contract servicemen to 475,600.