The publication Atlantic Council counted that Vladimir Putin needs between 47,000 and 93,000 soldiers to occupy Transnistria, and to conquer all of Ukraine, Russian President must send to war 865,769 troops.

The think tank Atlantic Council referred to the estimates of several American counter-insurgency experts, based on which is reasonable to conclude that Russia would need the following force levels to carry out an occupation.

In order to occupy Donetsk and Luhansk provinces alone, Russian would have to deploy somewhere between 26,702 and 133,514 troops.

A “land bridge” from Crimea to Transnistria would mean occupying Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Odesa provinces—which would entail somewhere between 46,497 and 92,994 soldiers. 

If Russia decides to conquer all of Ukraine, it would need an additional 548,587 troops—for a grand total of 667,123 to 865,769 troops. Kyiv city and Kyiv province alone would require 90,676 occupying soldiers.