The commander of United States Air Forces in Europe and Africa warned Tuesday that Russian military capabilities have grown stronger since Moscow ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
"Russia is getting larger, and they're getting better than they were before. They are actually larger than they were when [the invasion] kicked off," General James Hecker told reporters Tuesday at the Air Space & Cyber Conference being held in National Harbor, MD.
The general's remarks follow the Kremlin's announcement earlier this week about plans to expand its armed forces, with the goal of boosting Russia's total personnel to nearly 2.4 million, positioning it as the world's second-largest military after China's.
Hecker’s appearance at the annual event comes amid recent escalations in the 31-month-long war between Russia and Ukraine, a conflict that has seen incursions by both countries across each other’s territorial boundaries.
"Russia is going to be something that we're going to have to deal with for a long time, no matter how this thing ends," Hecker continued.
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