Russia to raise maximum draft age for recruits to 30 years

The Russian parliament is set to increase the maximum age for military recruits by three years, to the age of 30.

The head of the Russian State Duma Defence Committee said on Friday.

The minimum recruitment age, however, was to stay at 18, the Interfax news agency reported, citing the senior lawmaker, Andrei Kartapolov.

For a time, an increase to the age of 21 was floated.

The parliament still has to approve the regulation for it to apply from next spring.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had already indicated last year that the change could come.

At the time, the minimum and maximum ages were both supposed to be raised, with observers saying this move would increase the armed forces from the current 1,15 to 1.5 million soldiers.

Independent media pointed out that the new regulation could boost Russia’s army by hundreds of thousands of conscripts.

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine, the country has experienced high losses in its own ranks. (dpa/NAN)

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