Extract from ABC News
Russian President Vladimir Putin last year ordered the military expand to 1.5 million active troops.
In short:
Russia's military will boost recruitment of young men as it seeks to expand the number of active troops.
The Russian Defence Ministry has pledged the new recruits won't be sent to the "special military operation" in Ukraine.
Russian conscripts were previously sent to the frontline, which Russian President Vladimir Putin has referred to as a mistake.
Vladimir Putin has ordered a fresh conscription drive to recruit 160,000 more troops in a bid to expand the size of Russia's military.
Russian men are eligible to be drafted for mandatory military service through bi-annual call-ups.
The Kremlin and defence ministry said those they expected to recruit by mid-July would not be sent into combat and the call-ups have nothing to do with the Ukraine conflict.
However, Ukraine has said throughout the conflict that it has taken Russian conscripts captive and Mr Putin admitted at the start that some had been sent to fight by mistake.
Russia has conducted multiple recruitment drives in recent years but says it's not related to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
In a fresh decree on Monday, Mr Putin said the Russian military would hold a spring conscription with a planned draft size of 160,000 people, up from both last year and 2022.
It comes after he ordered Russia boost the size of its army to 1.5 million active troops.
"The forthcoming draft campaign is in no way connected with the special military operation in Ukraine," the defence ministry said on social media.
Apart from its conscription drives, Russia has recruited hundreds of thousands of men for its offensive on Ukraine as paid contract soldiers, offering high salaries and massive sign-up bonuses.
Russia traditionally holds waves of conscription in spring and autumn, with men aged 18-30 eligible to be called up.
Mr Putin raised the upper age limit from 27 in 2023.
The spring call-ups will run from April 1 until July 15, according to the Russian president's decree.
Despite pledging that conscripts do not get sent to the front, Russia drafted more than 300,000 "reservists" in 2022 for its Ukraine offensive in what it called a "partial mobilisation."
That triggered hundreds of thousands of men to flee the country to avoid being called up.
AFP
No comments:
Post a Comment