Moscow(Reuters)Jan,17 – Russia on Tuesday announced “substantial changes” to its military from 2023 to 2026, vowing to overhaul its military structure after months of setbacks on the Ukrainian battlefield.
In addition to administrative reforms, the Pentagon has announced it will strengthen the combat capabilities of its Navy, aerospace and strategic missile forces.
Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said, “Only by strengthening the main components of the armed forces can we ensure the military security of the state and protect the new units and vital facilities of the Russian Federation.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the change was necessary because of the “proxy war” that the West is waging in Ukraine.
The Defense Ministry, which has faced domestic criticism for its ineffective attempts to control much of Ukraine, pledged to increase its military personnel to 1.5 million in December. Eleven months of so-called “military special operations” made many changes in its leadership. During that time, his forces initially occupied large swaths of southern and eastern Ukraine, but have since suffered a series of painful defeats and retreats.
Last week, Shoigu appointed the Chief of the Army General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov, to lead the campaign in Ukraine.
The Ministry of Defense announced on Friday that it had captured Soledar, a small salt-mining town in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
