The increasing chances of being sent to war, drone attacks on Moscow, an unprecedented level of internal repression and the recent rebellion of Wagner PMC combine to emphasize the inability of the Russian state to shield the population from war, according to British military intelligence.
The Russian authorities are prioritizing amendments to legislation to allow for the rapid and mass conscription of men into the army. In mid-July 2023, the State Duma increased the maximum age of conscription from 27 to 30, keeping the current lower limit at 18.
On July 24, 2023, President Putin signed a law according to which the age limit for citizens in the reserves will be gradually raised: now senior officers can be mobilized up to the age of 70.
Reservists made up the main contingent of the partial mobilization in the fall of 2022, and it is at their expense that the Russian authorities could quickly increase the number of troops for combat operations in Ukraine, according to British military intelligence.
