Russia could increase draft age in the spring

(Reuters) – Russia could increase the maximum age for citizens to become conscripted into the armed force as soon as this spring according to a senior lawmaker. This is in line with Moscow’s plans of increasing the number Russian troops by 30%.

In December, President Vladimir Putin backed the defense ministry’s proposals to increase the mandatory military service age to include Russian citizens 21 to 30, rather than the 18 to 27 range.

Andrei Kartapolov is the chairman of Russia’s defence committee. He stated that Russia could raise its upper age limit to conscription to 30, in an interview with parliamentary newspaper. Kartapolov explained that the lower limit will only be raised from 18 years to 21 after a transition period of between one and three years.

Critics claimed that the Russian authorities tried to increase the number eligible for military service by creating a transition period to fill massive manpower shortages caused by heavy losses in the war with Ukraine.

Russia’s armed forces consist of both conscripts and contracted soldiers. Shoigu has presented plans to increase combat personnel from 1.15 million to 1.5 million.

Dmitry Peskov (Kremlin spokesperson) said Thursday that President Vladimir Putin “conceptually supports” raising the conscription ages, but details are up to the defense ministry.

Soon after Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, intense attention was paid to the role of conscripts. The defense ministry admitted that some were sent to fight in Ukraine despite statements made by Putin.

Russia called up over 300,000 ex-conscripts in September to join its first mobilization since World War Two. Western governments claim that Russia has lost tens to thousands of soldiers over the course of nearly 11 months of fighting.

(Reporting from Reuters; Editing: Mark Trevelyan