by Dave DeCamp, Antiwar:

Sergey Shoigu says Russia needs more ground forces to station in northwest Russia if Finland and Sweden join NATO

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu on Wednesday unveiled a plan to increase the size of Russia’s military to 1.5 million troops, an initiative backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia had about 1 million troops in its army at the beginning of the year, and the number was supposed to reach 1.15 million next year, but Shoigu said a further increase is needed to “guarantee the fulfillment of tasks to ensure Russia’s security.”