As Russia continues its war in Ukraine for the fourth month in a row, President Vladimir Putin has signed a law lifting age restrictions on his first contract in the army.
Until now, Russian citizens between the ages of 18 and 40 and foreigners under the age of 30 were allowed to sign the first contract for military service, but the new law stipulates that there will be no such restrictions for “citizens of working age” in the future.
According to Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Nikolai Pankov, both Russian citizens and foreigners will be able to enter the service until the age of 50.
“Russians under the age of 50 who are on the reserve as officers or sergeants and are on record are the category they can work with,” he said.
The explanatory memorandum to the draft law states that “the use of high-precision weapons, armaments and military equipment requires highly professional specialists”, who become around the age of 40-45. The authors of the document emphasize that it will help to attract “the most demanded specialists” to the service – primarily in those areas close to civil professions, such as medical supply, technical care, communications and other specialties.
The relevant draft law was submitted to the State Duma only on May 20 and was reviewed under an accelerated procedure. It was adopted by the State Duma at three consecutive readings and approved by the Federal Council shortly afterwards.
According to many analysts, Russia has no chance of making significant progress in the war unless it significantly increases its military contingent in Ukraine.
In early May, Western and Ukrainian media and officials said a mobilization was under way in Russia, but no decision had been made so far, but there were concerns about a covert mobilization aimed at people willing to sign a contract to go to war in Ukraine.
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