Lawmaker Leonid Slutsky, who early in the 16-month war took part in peace negotiations with Ukraine, said that Russia needs a contract army of at least seven million military and civilian personnel, on top of the current conscript army.
He said Wagner fighters can continue fighting with Russian army, go home or go to Belarus.
At the end of 2022, Putin backed beefing up the army to 1.5 million combat personnel - including 695,000 contract soldiers - from 1.15 million.
Creating a contract army of seven million would require a huge budget allowance.
The Russian economy, crippled by the war and subsequent Western sanctions contracted 2.2% percent last year and is expected to rebound only marginally this year.
Persons:
Leonid Slutsky, Sergei Lavrov, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, Evgenia, weekend's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Lidia Kelly, Stephen Coates
Organizations:
Russia's, Russian, Qatari Deputy, Foreign, REUTERS, Liberal Democratic Party, Thomson
Locations:
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al, Thani, Moscow, Russia, Russian, Ukraine, aborting, Belarus, Melbourne