Russian State Duma Defense Committee chairman Andrey Kartapolov recently suggested Russia would extend the upper age of military conscription from 27 to 30 for the Spring 2023 draft, the U.K. Defense Ministry said in its daily intelligence update on Jan. 15.
Kartapolov said the move would be intended to enable the previously announced 30% increase in the size of Russia’s forces.
Last year, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said he supported such a move. Russian officials often make such calls to sound out public reactions, according to the report.
“There is a realistic possibility that Russian leaders hope a change of age criteria for routine conscription could bolster personnel available to fight in Ukraine while appearing less alarming to the population than announcing another round of the unpopular ‘partial mobilization’ process,” the ministry said.
While Russia is reportedly conducting secret mobilization for the war against Ukraine, the routine spring draft will commence on Apr. 1.
