RUSSIA is boosting its army by 60,000 troops over the next four years in a bid to scare the West and extend Vladimir Putin's power.
Moscow needs a “strong” army to counter “frightening” Western efforts to sow “internal discord”, Putin's defence minister claimed.
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Sergei Shoigu (L), Russia's defence minister, announced plans to bolster the country's army by 60,000 troops over the next four years 5
Russia already has an army numbering 1.9 million troops, including around 400,000 conscripts
Minister Sergei Shoigu said the army needed more troops to man new deadly weaponry capable of wiping out entire cities in what's widely been seen as a push to modernise Putin's military machine.
A report today said the country was also pushing ahead with production of the S-500 Prometheus anti-aircraft missile system, which can attack hypersonic missiles and aircraft up to a speed of 11,875 mph as well as unmanned aerial vehicles.
The system is unmatched in the world, according to Russian sources.
The boost in personnel comes despite Russia’s military already numbering around 1.9 million, including around 400,000 conscripts, with a total of just over one million in uniform, and the rest civilians.
By contrast, Britain has around 145,000 in its armed forces, while the US has around 1.3 million.
“We actually have to recruit an additional 14,800 contract personnel and officers every year in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024,” said Shoigu.
This was to ensure enough numbers for “crews operating particularly sophisticated hardware” under a recruitment drive approved by Putin, he said.
Russia is on a major programme of modernising its army, airforce and navy, with an array of new hypersonic and conventional weaponry due to come online in the near future.
But Shoigu warned Russia faces another threat from the "disintegration of society” from within.
He told a youth educational forum in Moscow: "External threats - they are understandable...
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Some of the 'sophisticated weaponry' being used by Russian forces 5
Shoigu and Russian despot Vladimir Putin on a boat trip
“When we are threatened, we understand who is threatening, with what they are threatening.
“We know what they are armed with, how to counter this (and) fight it,
"But there is a more frightening part, which… has already turned into the main danger for any country. This is the internal threat.
“And all this is linked to the fact that society is gradually disintegrating inside the country.”
He warned: “We have no right to be weak. If we are weak, then what happened in Syria, Libya, Yugoslavia and many other countries will happen [to us].”
The West wanted Russia to suffer "internal discord, so that we eventually start feuding on national, religious, class grounds”, he claimed without proof.
This would lead to “self-chastisement and ruin our country from within”.
The defence minister insisted: "We cannot allow this to happen, which means that we must be strong.
“The task before us is clear, understandable and simple - [to have] a strong country and a strong army.
“Actually, this is what we are doing.”
PUTIN POWER
This came as Russia successfully tested hypersonic 6,100mph missiles it says is capable of stopping attacks from Western forces.
The deadly Zircon - or Tsirkon was unleashed at a speed of Mach 7 at a land target from the frigate Admiral Gorshkov in the White Sea off the northwest coast of Russia in July.
The target more than 220 miles away was hit in the Zircon's first state trial and the missile's "tactical and technical characteristics were confirmed”, reported state-owned RIA Novosti and Defence Ministry TV channel Zvezda.
Putin's preferred missile system
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The Zircon has been identified by Moscow’s state-controlled TV as Putin’s weapon of choice to wipe out coastal American cities in the event of a nuclear conflict.
The Kremlin leader has called the Mach 7-capable Zircon “truly unparalleled in the world”, and the Russians have boasted it is “unstoppable” by Western defences.
The launch came the day after TASS news agency had suggested a delay in state trials of the missile until August, although they had been scheduled for July.