Russian authorities continue to expand the list of citizens subject to military registration and possible conscription for training camps and the army to participate in combat operations.
On Monday, July 24, Vladimir Putin approved amendments to the law “On Military Duty and Military Service”, raising the age limit for reservists and reserves for the armed forces by 5 years.
From now on, citizens with the ranks of soldiers, sailors, sergeants, petty officers, warrant officers and midshipmen will be in the reserve up to 55 years instead of 50 years now. This is the limit of the third, oldest category of the reserve.
The age limit in the first category of the reserve is raised from 35 to 40 years, in the second – from 45 to 50 years.
Also, the age of the reserve in the “mobilization reserve” is increased: for senior officers – from 60 to 65 years, for junior officers – from 55 to 60 years, for those with other ranks – from 45 to 55 years. At the same time, the highest officers of the army will remain in the reserve until the age of 70 (this age does not change).
At the same time, the law adopted by the State Duma on July 14 and approved by the Federation Council on July 19 raises the age limit for the first contract with the Defense Ministry. Now it is 52 years for senior officers and 47 years for junior officers. Under the new norms, it is 62 years and 57 years respectively.
Last December, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced a large-scale reform of the army with an increase in its number by 350 thousand people – up to 1.5 million. The number of contract servicemen is planned to almost double – by 290 thousand to 695 thousand.
In January, the Kremlin tasked the regions with launching a large-scale recruitment campaign to replenish the depleted forces in Ukraine, whose losses, according to Western data, have exceeded 200,000 people killed and wounded. According to Bloomberg, governors were given orders for 400,000 contract soldiers and volunteers, with the help of which the authorities hoped to avoid another open mobilization. In six months, the army received 114,000 contract soldiers and 52,000 volunteers, Shoigu reported to Vladimir Putin in late June.
