Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to increase the size of his country's military by 180,000 troops to 1.5 million active service members.

The Kremlin says Putin signed the decree on Monday, and that it will take effect on December 1. The move comes as Russia faces the need to bolster its troop numbers as its invasion of Ukraine has continued for more than two and a half years.

Putin signed a similar decree last December. Russian media say this is the third time the size of the army has been beefed up since the invasion began.

Ukrainian forces continue their cross-border offensive in the western Russian region of Kursk.

The British defense ministry said in its intelligence update on Sunday that Ukraine has maintained control of around 800 to 900 square kilometers of territory in the region.

The figure is far less than what Ukraine has claimed. Kyiv said it had seized about 1,300 square kilometers of Russian territory, as of late August.

Russia is said to be continuing its counter-offensive in Kursk. The Russian defense ministry said on Monday that its forces had retaken control of two additional villages. That brings the number of settlements Moscow claims to have recaptured to 12.