Putin aims to draft 135,000 conscripts in autumn campaign

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree ordering the conscription of 135,000 men for military service, the official government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported on Monday.

Men aged 18 to 30 are to be drafted between October 1 and December 31.

The conscripts can only be deployed to fight in Ukraine after completing one year of mandatory service. They would then have to sign a separate contract for the active combat duty.

Russia carries out two draft cycles each year, in spring and autumn. This spring saw a record intake of 160,000 new soldiers.

A bill now before parliament would allow recruitment and medical examination offices to operate year-round, although conscription periods would still officially run from April 1 to July 15 and from October 1 to December 31.

Since launching its all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Kremlin has expanded the size of its armed forces. A year ago, Putin ordered the official strength of the military raised to 2.4 million personnel, including 1.5 million soldiers.

Although the government insists the new conscripts are not sent to fight inside Ukraine, they have repeatedly been involved in clashes in Russia’s own border regions.