Russia expands its military for the FOURTH time this year despite Putin's promise not to attack Europe

From the Newshound archive · first published 28 September 2026 · last updated 29 September 2026.

Russia has authorised its armed forces to expand to 2,441,630 personnel — among them 1,550,500 on active duty — in the fourth such enlargement Putin has ordered in 2026 alone. The decision follows Putin's recent assertion that Russia has "no plans" to attack Europe and that there are "no real incentives whatsoever to escalate the situation." Danish intelligence has issued a separate warning of a "low but growing risk" that Russian forces could move into a Nato border area within the coming months.

Nato is drawing up contingency plans against Russian missile strikes at sea as communities along Europe's eastern edge brace for hybrid attacks involving drones and rockets.

Defence experts have flagged the Estonian border town of Narva — where more than 90 per cent of the population are Russian speakers — as a possible target for a limited military incursion.