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Story summary
- President Vladimir Putin expanded Russia’s armed forces by 15,500, raising authorized strength to 2,441,630.
- The draft 2027 budget projects a record 17.1 trillion rubles ($203 billion) defense spend, 27% above the prior plan.
- Rosoboronexport reported over $13 billion in new weapons contracts for January-June, matching the 2025 total.
- Russia launched about 2,850 jet-powered drones into Ukraine last month, nearly double July’s count.