Russian dictator Vladimir Putin signed a decree to convene 135,000 men for compulsory military service on Monday. It is the largest recruitment campaign since 2016, which reinforces Kremlin’s war apparatus amid the war against Ukraine. According to the decree, the call will be effective between October 1st and December 31 this year.
According to the head of the Russian Armed Forces Mobilization Directorate of Mobilization, Vladimir Tsimlianski, the call is not directly related to the “special military operation,” as Moscow insists on classifying the invasion of Ukraine.
The forecast is that the young people summoned for a year on bases within the Russian territory, although previous reports pointed out the sending of recruits to the battle front.
Since the beginning of the invasion against Ukraine, Putin has increased military spending in Russia to record levels never seen since the Soviet era and has expanded the active contingent of military. In September alone, he ordered the army to reach 1.5 million soldiers.
Also since 2022, the number of Russian army recruits has been growing at an average rate of 5% per year. Analysts point out that even if the summoned are not immediately sent to the battlefield, the experience gained in training facilitates future mobilizations in case of troop replacement.
