The Kremlin wants to bolster Russia's armed forces to 1.5million military combat personnel to prevent future embarassments like those seen in Ukraine, it has been reported.
Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said beefing up the country's current 1.15million servicemen and women would "guarantee the solving of problems related to Russia's military security" at a conference of leading military officials.
Nearly half of the fighting force would be professional soldiers rather than conscripts, he added.
In a veiled threat, he said new units would be set up in the west of the country after its occidental neighbours Sweden and Finland announced intentions to join NATO earlier this year.
Putin has already finalised similar plans after signing a decree in the summer to increase numbers by 137,000 before the start of 2023, up to 1.15million.
In a controversial move, Putin called up more than 300,000 reservists in September, leading to a mass exodus of young Russian men and isolated incidents of violence at military draft centres.
Within hours of the decree, Russia's borders were gridlocked with young men desperately trying to dodge the draft.
In some of the territories where losses have been hardest felt, like Siberia, crowds marched through the streets chanting: "I'm not going to die for you."
More than 1,000 people were seized as Moscow brutally cracked down on the unrest.
The reactions grew more sinister after a number of shootings and firebombings were reported across the country.
One directly linked to the mobilisation took place in Irkutsk, Siberia, when an unemployed conscript strolled into an enlistment office and shot the top local military recruiter.
In Izhevsk, a town around 600 miles east of Moscow, another gunman wandered through a school and opened fire, killing at least 13 including young schoolchildren.
US and other analysts say Putin's war is crumbling after tens of thousands were killed in the 10 months since the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war.
At the briefing yesterday, the despot called on his military chiefs to analyse the Western weapons used since February and to use the intelligence to strengthen the armed forces and soldiers' capabilities.
He added that resources will be used to develop the Kremlin's nuclear arsenal, which will act as the "main guarantee of Russia's sovereignty".
It comes as President Joe Biden met with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky as the pair started extensive talks on the war.
Zelensky will make a landmark speech in Congress later today on what is his first trip outside of Ukraine since Vladimir Putin's troops invaded his homeland in February.
The US has provided significant political, financial and military support for Ukraine's fight against Russia in the meeting between the two will likely be important for consolidating their ongoing relationship.
Biden said Putin will "fail" in his mission and "there’s no way he’s going to occupy Ukraine".
In what may be seen as a risky trip for Zelensky, the Ukrainian leader reached the US via a train to Poland before flying to Washington DC on board an American military aircraft.
