MOSCOW, September 8 (AVN) - Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev said on Friday the Russian leadership has decided to reduce the Armed Forces personnel from 1.2 million to 850,000 servicemen.
President Vladimir Putin will issue a corresponding decree in the near future, Sergeyev told reporters. Under it, the Land Forces will lay off 180,000 servicemen, the Navy 50,000 and the Air Force 40,000 by the year 2003. The Interior Ministry, border and railway troops will also undergo reduction, he stressed.
The minister's statement effectively confirms the information published by the Military News Agency on Thursday.
The Agency's report also said the most radical reforms will concern the Strategic Missile Forces (SMF). By mid-2001, the Military Space Forces and Missile Space Defence Forces will be directly subordinated to the General Staff. The SMF will be reduced to military branch by 2002 and included in the Air Force by 2005. As many as 10 missile divisions of the SMF will be disbanded in the course of the transformation.
As to military bodies of other ministries and departments, the Interior Ministry troops will be reduced by 20,000 people, border troops by 5,000, railroad troops by 10,000 and other formations 22,000. Only Emergency Minister Sergei Shoigu managed to preserve his ministry's formations intact.
The reduction programme is identical to that proposed by Chief-of-Staff Anatoly Kvashnin.