Putin orders an autumn draft, 133,000 to reinforce the Russian army
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has signed a decree for the autumn military draft. According to the document published by the Kremlin, 133,000 people will be reinforced in the ranks of the Russian army from October to the end of December.
According to the decree on Monday on the official legal information portal, 133,000 people will be conscripted into the army from 1 October to 31 December.
Mobilisation in Russia
The document concerns citizens of the Russian Federation aged 18 to 30 who are not in the reserve and are subject to conscription for military service.
The upper age limit for conscription into military service in Russia was raised on 1 January 2024. However, the new rules do not apply to those who will turn 27 by the end of 2023 or those who are 28 or 29 and already in reserve.
At the same time, it should be noted that the new autumn draft is the first in which the age has been raised to 30.
Putin expands the army
In mid-September this year, Vladimir Putin issued the third decree increasing the size of the army since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. From 1 December, the number of active soldiers will increase to 1.5 million, with a total of 2.389 million people in the armed forces.
Earlier, the Deputy Head of the Organisational and Mobilisation Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Tsymlyansky, reported that the period of military service for conscripts will remain unchanged at 12 months, and the departure of conscripts from assembly points is planned for 15 October 2024.
"All conscripts will be directed to military service at the permanent deployment points of formations and military units on the territory of the Russian Federation," he said.
Record military spending
On the same day, the draft budget for 2025-2027 was submitted to the Russian State Duma. The Russian government intends to increase next year's defence budget to 10 trillion pounds sterling (122 billion pounds), which is 6.2% of GDP, from 7.9 trillion pounds sterling planned for the current year.
Russia's defence spending is expected to decrease only in 2026 – to 5.6% of GDP – and in 2027 – to 5.1% of GDP.
"In 2026 and 2027, Russia plans to decrease defense spending slightly, to 5.6% and 5.1% of GDP, respectively. However, spending on national defense would still be higher than current levels, and several times higher than pre-war levels," commented the portal The Moscow Times.
