Russian Defense Ministry says over 640,000 contract soldiers currently serving in Russian army

There are over 640,000 contract soldiers serving in the Russian army, reports RBC, citing the Russian Defense Ministry. RBC notes that this is the first time since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine that the Russian Defense Ministry has reported how many people are serving in the army under contract.

On December 14, during his combined end-of-year press conference and “Direct Line” question-and-answer show, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Defense Ministry was conducting a broad recruiting campaign. According to him, 486,000 volunteers signed contracts with the Defense Ministry this year. Putin also said that there were 244,000 servicemen fighting in Ukraine and that there was no need for a new wave of mobilization in the country.