Putin Increases the Number of Russian Army Personnel and Several Explosions Heard in Kyiv

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On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a presidential decree to increase the size of the Russian army to 1.55 million active-duty soldiers.

This increase, which follows a similar increase decided in August, will raise the total number of armed forces to 2,441,630 soldiers, of whom 1,550,000 will be in active service.

The number of active-duty soldiers will increase by 15,500 soldiers.

On another note, several strong explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, early Tuesday, while air defense systems were activated during an air raid alert, according to reporters from Agence France-Presse.

The Ukrainian Air Force warned via its Telegram channel that "new ballistic missiles are heading towards Kyiv."

AFP reporters stated that Kyiv was subjected to a double attack by drones and missiles.

The Ukrainian capital has been experiencing an escalation in Russian airstrikes targeting it day and night for weeks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced, based on preliminary reports, that a woman was killed and six others were injured on Monday after a Russian drone strike caused a fire at the Academy of Sciences in Kyiv.

Zelensky renewed his call last week for Ukraine's Western allies to increase their military assistance, particularly by providing more American "Patriot" interceptor missiles capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.