President Vladimir Putin signed an order on Monday to draft 160,000 men as part of Russia’s biannual conscription drive.
According to the Moscow Times, this year’s spring draft marks Russia’s largest conscription campaign since spring 2011, when the Defense Ministry called up more than 200,000 men. It also marks an increase from last spring, when Russia drafted 150,000 men.
This year’s increase comes after Putin issued a decree in September 2024 to expand the Russian army by 180,000 soldiers, setting the total number of active servicemen at 1.5 million.
Russia holds conscription drives twice a year, in the spring and the fall. However, this is not to be confused with combat-service mobilization. Mandatory military service now applies to men between the ages of 18 and 30, in accordance with new legislation that came into effect last January.
This year’s spring conscription drive will run from April 1 to July 15.
Sign up for Meduza’s daily newsletter
A digest of Russia’s investigative reports and news analysis. If it matters, we summarize it.