It has been suggested that Vladimir Putin could be preparing for war with NATO and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank said 292,000 recruits signed contract between January and September this year, according to a Russian source.
The ISW said the Russian source has “consistently provided accurate reports about changes in the Russian military command”.
Several thousand of the new recruits have joined reserve forces and since July Putin has been quietly building this up.
According to the ISW, “indicate that the Kremlin is not interested in ending its war against Ukraine but remains committed to achieving its war goals on the battlefield and may be preparing for a conflict with [Nato].
“The reported creation of a strategic reserve as part of wider Kremlin preparations for a possible Russia-Nato conflict in the future, particularly as Russia intensifies its youth military-patriotic programmes that aim to recruit Russian youth into the military in the years to come.”
Natia Seskuria, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) told the Daily Mail: “We know that Russia has used these drills to sort of test different war game scenarios.
“In 2008 against Georgia and then against Ukraine, Zapad drills preceded the actual military operations, the wars that Russia has launched against these countries.
“The scale is much more reduced.
“But it’s also an opportunity for Russia to basically test different scenarios and also to demonstrate to the West that they are still committed to their plans, which include, of course, primarily winning the war in Ukraine.”
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