Putin set the full-time strength of the Russian Armed Forces at 2.42 million people.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree establishing the strength of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the amount of 2,426,130 units, including 1,535,000 military personnel. The document was published on the official Internet portal of legal information on July 27.

The decree amends the presidential decree of June 12, 2026, which established the previous staffing level. The new number will be introduced from August 1, 2026 in connection with the creation of military construction units in the Armed Forces.

The document also sets the maximum number of the central office of the Ministry of Defense in the amount of 13,400 units, including 4,930 federal government civil servants.

Protection measure: the Russian Federation is preparing a "basic standard" of support for its veterans

How is the work of the relevant State Council commission going and what new benefits can be expected?

On June 12, Putin announced that the grouping of the Russian Armed Forces in the area of the special military operation (SVO) exceeds 700 thousand people. The Head of State noted that when employing special operation veterans, it is not enough to offer jobs only in military enlistment offices, since there are many other areas in the system of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. The Russian leader cited his communication with military personnel as an example and said that many of them want to come up with [something] more interesting.