Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, hoping for a quick victory against his Eastern European neighbor. However, his military, which has been plagued by a myriad of issues in recent months, was met with a stronger-than-expected defensive effort from Ukraine. Six months later, the Ukrainian army, bolstered by military aid from allies including the United States, has forced Moscow’s troops to retreat to the easternmost parts of Ukraine, where fighting continues with no clear end in sight. Russia has largely failed to achieve any of its objectives during the invasion, and reports have emerged that large numbers of its troops have either been killed during the fighting – and many of those who remain reportedly lack motivation, experience or strong leadership. . In the latest attempt to increase the number of fighters, Putin ordered the Russian military to add 137,000 new soldiers, which would bring the total number to 1.15 million. The ordinance will go into effect Jan. 1 and will likely rely on volunteers, according to the Associated Press. Above, Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen at a meeting in Moscow on Friday. Putin asked his military to add more troops amid his country’s war with Ukraine this week — a sign he is “in trouble,” according to retired US Army Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling. MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images Hertling, during an appearance on CNN, said the order is a bad sign for Russia’s prospects of achieving victory in Ukraine. “It tells me they have a problem,” he said. He pointed to several reasons why the order, which he said comes as most of Russia’s “front-line units are very underpowered,” may not necessarily help the country recruit strong forces—including that recruiting efforts will target individuals aged up to 60 years. “Are they going to put these young recruits through their basic training, which frankly, isn’t very good, and then send them straight into a unit to try to learn combined arms operations, which are very difficult? without any additional training? If that’s the case, they’re going to be in trouble,” he said. “I knew the Russian army was bad. I didn’t know they were as bad as they were, based on personal observation and discussion with their commander.” Russia requires all men between the ages of 18 and 27 to serve at least one year in the military, but many avoid the military for health reasons or to go to college, according to the AP. As the Russian military winds down in Ukraine, the Kremlin in recent months has made several efforts to find new recruits. Russia has even offered “lucrative” cash bonuses to volunteers fighting in Ukraine, British intelligence said earlier this month. The Kremlin has also reportedly forcibly recruited at least 430 miners from the Luhansk region, according to the region’s governor, Serhiy Haidai. But the increased recruiting efforts have had some consequences. The Wagner Group, which helps recruit the Russian military, has reportedly lowered recruitment standards due to heavy casualties. Meanwhile, other troops were rushed to the front lines of Ukraine with little to no training. Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.
