MOSCOW. Dec 11 (Interfax) - The Russian Armed Forces are now staffed by over 90% and the percentage of contract servicemen went up 10% over the past year, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.
"The boosting of the quality of the Armed Forces continued this year. They are staffed by 92%, and the percentage of contract servicemen in the past year went up over 10%, reaching 352,000 people," Shoigu told a Defense Ministry collegium on Friday.
"The number of contract servicemen has for the first time exceeded the number of conscripts," he said. The number of contract servicemen will increase to 364,000 next year, he said.
"In the current situation, the Russian Armed Forces should have the potential to defend the country's sovereignty," the defense minister said.
To achieve this task, the Defense Ministry and the federal executive bodies have developed a defense plan for the 2016-2020 period, which was approved by the president in November 2015.
The plan "takes into account all challenges and threats in the military sphere and envisages the defense of the state in all predicted options of military conflicts involving the Russian Federation," the minister said.