Russian army to recruit 133,000 new soldiers in autumn
Moscow, October 1 (Hibya) - Russia's Defence Ministry plans to draft 133,000 young men into military service this autumn and winter, according to a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin on Monday.
With the 150,000 conscripts recruited in the spring, the Russian army will have recruited 283,000 soldiers by the end of 2024.
The latest draft comes two weeks after Putin set a goal of 1.5 million active soldiers by the end of 2024.
All Russian men between 18 and 30 must complete compulsory military service to receive basic military training. Evading the draft is punishable by up to two years in prison.
Under Russian law, conscripts can only be sent to war zones for four months after they are drafted and complete basic training. But after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin reassured the public that conscripts would not participate in combat operations.
Despite this, military rights groups said that while it was not officially banned, the military leadership generally discouraged the sending of conscripts into combat because of the unpopularity of such a move.
Russia’s military confirmed that new conscripts would not be sent to Ukraine and said the country’s new digital conscription system would not be used for this fall’s call-up. Conscripts will receive paper drafts during the October 1-December 31 conscription period.
Albania News Agency
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