On June 27, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a speech to the troops of the Ministry of Defense, National Guard, FSB security service and Ministry of Interior in the center of Moscow.
Sergei Guneyev | AFP | Getty Images
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree stipulating that 150,000 citizens will be called into mandatory military service in the spring, according to a document posted on the Kremlin website on Sunday.
All men in Russia are required to serve in the military for one year from the age of 18, or to receive equivalent training during higher education.
In July, Russia’s lower house of parliament voted to raise the maximum age for male conscription into the army from 27 to 30. The new legislation comes into effect on January 1, 2024.
Compulsory military service has long been a sensitive issue in Russia, with many men going to great lengths to avoid receiving draft papers during the twice-yearly conscription period.
Conscripts cannot legally be deployed to fight outside Russia and were exempt from a limited mobilization in 2022 that brought together at least 300,000 military-trained personnel to fight in Ukraine, although some conscripts were mistakenly sent to the front lines.
In September, Putin signed an order to recruit 130,000 troops to participate in the autumn campaign. Last spring, Russia planned to recruit 147,000 troops.
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