President Vladimir Putin has called up 160,000 young men, aged 18-30, for Russia’s spring conscription, marking the country’s highest number of conscripts since 2011. This increase is part of a broader effort to expand Russia’s military, following Putin’s previous statement about raising the overall size of the military to nearly 2.39 million, with 1.5 million active servicemen. This includes a rise of 180,000 troops over the next three years.
Despite Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, Vice Admiral Vladimir Tsimlyansky emphasized that the new conscripts would not be deployed to fight in Ukraine as part of the “special military operation.” However, there have been reports of conscripts being sent to Ukraine in the early stages of the war, and some have been killed while fighting in Russia’s border regions.
The conscription period runs from April to July, and the latest draft is 10,000 higher than last year’s. Additionally, Russia has extended the maximum age for conscription from 27 to 30, widening the pool of eligible men. Notifications for the draft are being sent through both traditional mail and Russia’s state services website, Gosuslugi.
The announcement comes amid continued violence in Ukraine, including a recent Russian attack on a power facility in Kherson, which left 45,000 people without electricity. Despite Russia’s agreement to halt attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Ukrainian officials have reported ongoing drone attacks.
Efforts to avoid conscription are growing in Russia, with increasing numbers of young men seeking “alternative civilian service.” Human rights lawyer Timofey Vaskin has expressed concern that conscription has become more unpredictable, with authorities employing new strategies to fill military ranks.
Since the war began, Russia has also relied on contract soldiers and recruited personnel from North Korea to bolster its military. Moscow’s expanding forces are seen as a response to heavy losses in Ukraine, with verified reports of over 100,000 Russian soldiers killed. The true number may be even higher.
The increase in military size follows Russia’s claims of “growing threats,” particularly from the war in Ukraine and NATO’s expansion. NATO has added Finland and Sweden as new members, which has prompted countries like Finland to reconsider their defense strategies. Finland recently announced plans to resume the use of anti-personnel mines, a decision based on military advice, citing the ongoing threat from Russia.