INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia has launched the spring conscription of 160,000 servicemen, marking an increase from previous drafts amid its war on Ukraine and
ongoing peace talks with Washington.The Kremlin and the Defense Ministry both insist that Russian conscripts will not be deployed to combat
and that the call-up is unrelated to the conflict in Ukraine.However, as the war drags on for a fourth year, many remain skeptical of the
and autumn, with men aged 18-30 eligible for service
draft 160,000 men this spring, an increase from 150,000 in 2024 and 134,500 in 2022, the year Russia launched its full-scale offensive
registry for electronic draft notices, with the notices going out across the country from April 1, 2025
delivered in person.With the digital database, a draft notice is automatically considered served one week after its posting
From that moment, the conscript cannot leave the country
If he fails to appear at the enlistment office within 20 days, he will face legal restrictions including a driving ban and being
disqualified from taking out loans and selling or buying real estate.Instead of compulsory military service, men can apply for alternative
civilian service, which involves full-time work
This exception can be granted, for example, if military service contradicts the draftee's beliefs or religious views or if the person
belongs to an indigenous minority.Boosting the armyWhile the Defense Ministry maintains that its twice-yearly conscription is unrelated to
conscripts also may be persuaded to sign contracts with the Defense Ministry after being drafted.Until April 2023, Russian law prohibited
men from signing military contracts immediately after high school
by the State Duma that year allowed 18-year-old men to sign contracts immediately after graduating high school
These new recruits can be deployed to the front just four weeks after enlisting
Under a presidential decree, those who sign military contracts cannot terminate their contracts and leave the front until the war in Ukraine
September 2022 have not panned out, as doing so would carry high political risks.Draft and war in UkraineDespite assurances from Putin at
the start of the war that conscripts would not be sent into battle, at least 159 Russian draftees have been killed since the beginning of
the invasion, according to open-source data collected by BBC Russian last year.At the beginning of the invasion, conscripts were present in
some of the attacking Russian units
By March 2022, the Defense Ministry admitted that conscripts had indeed been deployed
Following a military prosecutor's investigation, Russia acknowledged that at least 600 conscripts were sent to Ukraine.Further evidence of
conscripts in combat came when the missile cruiser Moskva sank in April 2022 with conscripts on board
from sending conscripts into direct combat, these men can be tasked with guarding border positions in Russia and annexed Crimea.When Kyiv
according to the independent media outlet Vyorstka.The average age of those killed was 20
They came from 18 Russian regions including the southern Rostov and Krasnodar regions, the republic of Bashkortostan and the Altai region,
as well as the northern Vologda region.
