Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has outlined a list of military improvements Russia plans to prioritize this year after nearly 11 months of war in Ukraine.
When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Ukraine toppled expectations that Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s army would quickly sweep the smaller European country.
While Russia continues to control some Ukrainian territory throughout the eastern and southern parts of the nation, according to territorial control assessment maps from the Institute for the Study of War, Putin’s war effort has been rife with military setbacks and other issues.
These include unprecedented Western sanctions and Ukrainian counteroffensives that have reclaimed territory in the eastern Kharkiv region and southern Kherson region, as well as reported Russian manpower shortfalls, supply shortages and problems with Russian military leadership.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military has been bolstered by continued military and security aid from Western allies.
Shoigu told top Russian generals on Tuesday that Russia would work to improve its air force, including bolstering its overall strike capabilities and bettering command, communication and training, according to Reuters.
This announcement came after the U.S. Pentagon, U.K. Defence Ministry and other experts have assessed during the war’s progression that Russia has failed to establish or maintain air superiority over Ukraine.
Shoigu said Tuesday that Russia will “increase the combat capabilities of the aerospace forces—both in terms of the work of fighters and bombers in areas where modern air defense systems are in operation, and in terms of improving unmanned aerial vehicles.”
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are more commonly known as drones.
“Our immediate plans are to expand the arsenals of modern strike weapons,” Shoigu said, according to Reuters. “We need to improve the management and communication system.”
In addition to improvements in the Russian air force, Shoigu said that military commissariats, which draft soldiers, need to be modernized.
In September last year, Putin announced a partial mobilization that he said would call up to 300,000 additional soldiers to fight in Ukraine. The order sparked anti-mobilization protests across Russia and reportedly spurred hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens to flee the country.
The Kremlin also acknowledged that there were issues with carrying out the draft, including instances where the criteria for the mobilization were violated.
In regard to the commissariats, Shoigu said that it is “necessary to digitalize databases, establish interaction with local and regional authorities, as well as industry,” according to Reuters.
He also announced that Russia would continue development of its nuclear triad, which he described as “the main guarantee of our country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” according to Tass.
Newsweek reached out to Russia’s Defense Ministry for comment.
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