Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree calling up 160,000 citizens for military service between April and July.
The decree, reported by Interfax and published on the government’s legal announcements website, applies to all Russian men aged 18 to 30. It also confirms that “soldiers, sailors, sergeants and non-commissioned officers whose conscripted military service has expired” will be discharged.
Russia conducts conscription twice a year, in spring and autumn. The previous draft, held from October to December 2023, saw 133,000 recruits join the military for a one-year service term.
Last year, Putin signed a law raising the maximum conscription age from 27 to 30. According to Russian media, as of December 2023, Russia’s armed forces have grown to nearly 2.4 million personnel, with 1.5 million classified as military personnel.
