Mr. Putin signed a decree calling 150,000 citizens to do military service.

President Putin signed a new decree requiring 150,000 men to perform mandatory military service during the annual spring draft.

"I have signed a decree requiring Russian citizens aged 18-30 who are not in the reserve and eligible for military service to be drafted. This draft will take place from April 1 to July 15, with a total of 150,000 people," President Vladimir Putin said in a decree published on the Kremlin's legal information portal on March 31.

The document also allows for the discharge of soldiers, sailors, sergeants and corporals who have completed their military service.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on March 26. Photo: Reuters

There are two drafts of military service in Russia each year, one in the spring and one in the fall. Last September, President Putin signed a decree calling for 130,000 men to serve in the fall draft. Previously, Russia had called up 147,000 men for the spring of 2023.

Under a new law that took effect on January 1, all male Russian citizens aged 18-30 will have to serve 12 months in the military, a change from the previous rule that people aged 18-27.

Russian law prohibits the mobilization of conscripts for combat missions outside the country. "Conscripts will not be sent to deployment points in Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia or sent to perform tasks of a special military operation," Vladimir Tsimlyansky, deputy head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Mobilization Directorate, said, referring to the regions Moscow annexed despite Kiev's protests.

Conscripts were exempted from partial mobilization in 2022, when Russia called up more than 300,000 troops from its reserves to bolster its campaign in Ukraine, the first time Russia has called up troops since World War II.

However, after soldiers complete their military service, they will be part of the reserve force and may have to go to the front lines if mobilized in the future.

In addition to conscripts, Russia maintains a professional military force serving on a contract basis. Professional soldiers serve mainly in special forces, high-tech weapons, and in combat in Ukraine.

Huyen Le (According to AFP , Reuters , TASS )

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