NATO has announced its intention to significantly strengthen its forces as Russia continues to pose a growing and substantial threat to European security. He laid out plans to build a rapid reaction force of over 300,000 men, but how does that compare to Russian military service?
How many soldiers does Russia have?
The Russian military comprises both volunteers and conscripts, with around 1.3 million reaching military age each year, indicating a constant turnover in troops.
Information varies, but according to defense tracker Global Firepower, Russian military strength ranks second in the world, just behind the United States.
In total, it says Russia has just under 70 million people available for military service, with 850,000 active members and 250,000 in reserve, which equates to about 1,350,000 in total.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance estimates the number of active personnel available to Russia at around 900,000, while armyforces.eu estimates the country has around 1,154,000.
READ MORE: Russia’s frightening threat to Western allies
The CIA Factbook also lists that Russia has about 850,000 active personnel and breaks down its service forces to include about 300,000 ground troops; 40,000 airborne troops; 150,000 sailors; 160,000 aerospace forces; and 70,000 strategic rocket forces.
He estimates that there are about 20,000 special operations forces; approximately 100,000 other uniformed personnel (command and control, cyber, support, logistics, security); and approximately 200–250,000 Federal National Guard troops.
Russian ground forces
Russia ranks as the country with the most ground forces surpassing the United States, according to Global Firepower.
This figure includes 772 fighter/interceptor aircraft; 739 dedicated attack aircraft; 445 transport aircraft; 20 tankers, 132 for special missions, 1,543 helicopters, 544 attack helicopters; and 522 training aircraft.
It is also listed as having the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, with an approximate supply of 6,400 warheads.
NATO, which is a collective of nations, slightly outnumbers Russian forces with an army of around 1,346,400 men.
About 165,000 of them are deployed, with 799,500 standby reserves.
As the Russian-Ukrainian war enters its 18th week, Moscow has shown unwavering determination to “demilitarize” Ukraine, despite crippling sanctions and denunciations.
Following his increased and “direct” threats to European security in neighboring countries, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced his intention to expand NATO’s rapid reaction force from 40,000 to ” well over 300,000″ at the Madrid summit this week.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is reportedly calling on alliance leaders to increase their defense budgets accordingly, as he too is under pressure to do more on UK military spending.
Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, who is also attending the Madrid summit, said that while he had enough funds for the “here and now”, additional investment was needed in the next cycle of government spending in from the middle of the decade.
Mr Wallace told Sky News: “My settlement (of expenses) was made before Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia is very, very dangerous on the world stage.”
“The world is less secure than it was two or three years ago, and doesn’t seem likely to change for the rest of the decade.
“This is the time in the middle of the decade to say that we should commit to increasing funding.”
