Decree No. 700
Putin's 28 September 2026 decree setting Russian Armed Forces strength at 1,550,500 servicemen.
Decree No. 700, signed on 28 September 2026, raised the Russian Armed Forces' authorised strength to 1,550,500 servicemen, eight days after State Duma voting closed, while ordering no call-up.
Last refreshed: 12 October 2026
Timeline for Decree No. 700
Set the authorised strength at 1,550,500 servicemen
Russia-Ukraine War 2026: Putin lifts army ceiling to 1,550,500Background
Decree No. 700 is a Russian presidential decree that Vladimir Putin signed on 28 September 2026. It sets the authorised strength of the Russian Armed Forces at 2,441,630 posts, including 1,550,500 servicemen, from the day of signature.
Issued under Article 4 of the 1996 defence law, it repeals Decree No. 419 of 12 June 2026, which allowed 1,510,000 servicemen, and point 2 of Decree No. 526 of 27 July 2026, which had amended it. It orders the government to fund the Defence Ministry for the new figure.
Authorised strength is a legal ceiling on posts, not a count of people serving, and the decree orders no call-up. Its weight lies in what it permits: a larger standing force that the state budget must pay for.
The decree lifts the troop ceiling
The decree lifted the legal limit from the 1,510,000 servicemen allowed by Decree No. 419 of June 2026 to 1,550,500, within a total of 2,441,630 posts. Authorised strength caps posts; it does not count people serving, and the decree orders no call-up.
It came eight days after voting closed in the September State Duma elections. Ukraine's military intelligence chief had said Russian generals wanted 800,000 more troops after the vote, so the decree's rise covers about 5% of that ask. It does order the government to fund the Defence Ministry for the new figure, which makes the higher ceiling a budget commitment as well as a legal one.