(IntegrityPress.org) – On Tuesday, July 25, Russian lawmakers passed a bill increasing the age limit required for mandatory conscription into the armed forces to 30. Currently, the conscription law applies to Russian men from ages 18-27, and they must spend at least one year in the armed forces.
The Russian government explained the reasoning for the age limit increase, stating that it is mostly due to meeting their internal quota of 147,000 active duty soldiers this spring. Taking effect at the same time as this bill is an added amendment that states once Russian soldier receives their conscription notice, they cannot leave the territory of the Russian Federation, or they will face prison.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has been a disaster casualty-wise on both sides. Due to the fog of war, exact numbers are not known, but the losses on both sides are estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands.
Recently, things have ramped up in the conflict. Russian missile strikes were reported in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa in retaliation for a Ukrainian attack on the Kerch bridge, which is the only connection between mainland Russia and Crimea. Cluster munitions on both sides have also been used to devastating effect.
In addition to increasing hostilities, the Wagner PMC group is currently training Belarusian special forces only 5 miles away from the border of Poland, which is both a member of NATO and the European Union. Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, has recently stated that Wagnerites have been itching to “visit” Warsaw and Rzeszow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also recently made threats to Poland, threatening to “remind his friends” in Warsaw that western Poland was a gift to the country by Joseph Stalin.
The age increase does not bode well for peace anytime soon, and it remains to be seen if Russia will eventually enact a general mobilization. The bill will take effect at the beginning of 2024.
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