Russian deputies on Tuesday approved an amendment to the law raising the age limit for mandatory military service from 27 to 30, as the armed conflict with Ukraine enters its 18th month.
“From January 1, 2024, citizens between the ages of 18 and 30 will be called up for military service,” said the law, which was passed on second and third readings by the State Duma (lower house of Russia’s parliament), the most important stage of the country’s legislative process.
However, the measure changes what was initially approved, when deputies raised the minimum age for completing compulsory military service from 18 to 21, which is considered a constitutional duty.
“The main change is to raise the maximum age to 30. It was decided to leave the minimum age at 18, because there are many young men who want to do military service at the age of 18,” said Andrei Kartapolov, chairman of the State Duma’s Defense and Security Committee.
The increase in the maximum age for conscription was explained on the grounds that it compensates for the reduction in the number of citizens that can be conscripted.
Kartapolov indicated that the length of conscription remains unchanged at one year.
“It is not necessary to serve for two years, it is not necessary. Our young people today are able to acquire a military specialty in six months,” said the deputy, who is a retired general.
The deputies also approved an amendment that would allow the heads of the “new federated entities” – Kherson, Zaporijia, Donetsk and Lugansk, annexed to Ukraine by decree and where violent fighting with Ukrainian troops is taking place – to create companies to assist the armed and security forces during periods of mobilization, martial law and a state of war.
The amendments, which must be approved by the Senate and signed by President Vladimir Putin, will take effect on January 1, 2024.
The initiative to raise the age for military service was proposed by Russian Defense Minister Serguei Shoigu in late 2022 and came about after hundreds of thousands of men of military age left Russia following the mobilization decreed by the Russian President in September of the same year.
In addition to raising the military service age, Shoigu also proposed in January to increase the number of armed forces to 1.5 million by 2026 (up from 1.15 million this year), and to increase the number of professional soldiers to 695,000.
The deputies also approved the creation of two new military districts, Moscow and Leningrad, as well as an army corps in the Republic of Karelia, on the border with Finland, and groups in Russia’s “new entities”, the Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Zaporijia, Donetsk and Lugansk, annexed by the Kremlin in September 2022.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law raising the maximum age for some categories of reservists to 55, a measure that will be phased in from 2024 to 2028, the local press reported.
Under the law, the change will apply to reservists who are private soldiers, marines, sergeants, non-commissioned officers, ensigns and midshipmen.
From January 1, 2024, a transition phase is planned until January 1, 2028, during which the reserve release ages will gradually increase. The age of reserve exemption for officers varies, depending on rank, between 50 and 70 years.
With the war in Ukraine in the background, Russia took measures to expand the army without the need for new mobilizations, highly unpopular, and promoted more attractive contracts to serve in the armed forces and the recruitment of volunteers.
The military offensive in Ukraine launched by Russia has so far led to the flight of nearly 15 million people – internally and to European countries – according to the latest UN data, which classify this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
Source: DN
