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The United States’ top general in Europe has said that Russia’s military has grown by 15% since the start of the war in Ukraine.

Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the leader of US European Command, said, “The size of the Russian military is bigger today than when the war started.” Gen. Cavoli explained the factors contributing to this increase, particularly noting the Russian military recruitment and structure changes. He said, “Russia’s military is partly growing because it has initiated an annual spring conscription, but this year Moscow is offering those recruits the option to sign a contract and get paid in exchange for being sent to Ukraine.”

This approach has allowed Russia to supplement its forces rapidly, countering its substantial battlefield losses, which Gen. Cavoli added: “Russia has suffered 315,000 casualties in the war.”

Cavoli described the restructuring within the Russian military, which has included increasing the number of active troops and modernizing their command structures. “Over the past year, Russia increased its front line troop strength from 360,000 to 470,000. Russia is also pushing to restructure seven brigades into divisions and a new army corps, which could be sent to Ukraine and near the border with Finland.”

This comes as Ukraine’s parliament’s recently moved to increase soldier recruitment and adjust conscription ages to deal with the escalating military challenge posed by Russia.