Russia will hold the largest conscription for military service in 14 years.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the relevant decree.

Thus, between April 1 and July 15, 2025, 160 thousand people aged 18 to 30 are to be drafted (previously, the upper limit was 27 years).

According to Astra, the last time such a large-scale conscription was observed in Russia was in 2011, when 203 thousand people were sent to serve.

After that, the number of conscripts only decreased and, since 2012, has not exceeded 155,500.

However, after 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the trend changed: the number of conscripts started to increase. In the spring of 2023, 147,000 people were sent to the army, in the spring of 2024, 150,000, and now 10,000 more.

The Russian government officially claims that conscripts are not sent to war in Ukraine. They are also allegedly not involved in performing tasks in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions.

However, numerous testimonies indicate the opposite: some conscripts sign contracts without always realizing the consequences, while others end up in the combat zone after their military service.

The increase in the number of conscripts comes amid reports of a shortage of personnel in the army. It is also likely to be related to the decision to gradually increase the number of personnel in the Russian Armed Forces to 2 million 389 thousand people, including 1.5 million military personnel.

Russia also continues to recruit prisoners, offers large payments for contract service, and expands the age range for those willing to fight against Ukraine.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine protests the forced mobilization of Ukrainian citizens into the armed forces and other military formations by the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied territories as part of the so-called “spring call 2025”.

These are Ukrainian citizens in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, as well as parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions.