Putin signs decree expanding troop targets as Ukraine warns of covert Russian mobilization

At the beginning of the week Vladimir Putin signed decree No. 700, which lifts the official target size of Russia's armed forces and represents the fourth increase of its kind this year. The same day Wolodymyr Selenskyj warned that Russia has already started an "additional" mobilization, employing a range of methods and intending to draw more foreign fighters, notably North Korean troops that are currently numbered in the thousands.

Macron suggested that Russia could summon up to 300,000 additional soldiers to reinforce its claim over the Donbass, a claim Putin dismissed as nonsense. Military analyst Gustav Gressel said the unchanged 2022 partial-mobilization order enables a covert, step-by-step conscription, beginning with peripheral regions and escalating pressure. Recent reports indicate Russia has completed an electronic military registry that can issue summons and travel bans, while recruiting 20,000-30,000 contract soldiers each month, enough to offset losses but insufficient for new offensives. Meanwhile, Russian forces continue strikes on Kyiv, including a fire at the Academy of Sciences and attacks on Ukrainian data centers.