Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree for a record autumn conscription campaign, set to run from Oct. 1 until the end of the year.
According to the official legal acts website, 135,000 people are slated to be drafted into the Russian army, the largest autumn intake since 2016, when 152,000 were called up.
The decree also provides for the release of soldiers, sailors, sergeants, and foremen whose terms of service have expired.
Men aged 18 to 30 who are not in the reserve and are subject to conscription will be drafted, the decree states. Federal authorities and departments are tasked with ensuring the implementation of the order.
On Sept. 24, the Russian State Duma passed a bill in its first reading that would extend conscription-related activities throughout the calendar year. Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, the call-up will no longer take place twice a year but instead run continuously from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31.
Dispatching of conscripts to service units will still occur in two periods: from April 1 to July 15 and from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, under presidential decrees.
Moscow has denied any link between conscription and the war in Ukraine, insisting that conscripts will not be sent to the front.
On April 1, Moscow launched its annual spring conscription campaign, while also continuing efforts to recruit volunteers for the Russian military.
Ukraine’s government has protested, saying that thousands of the new conscripts are Ukrainian citizens who will be forced to fight against their own people.
A presidential order signed by Putin set the target for this year’s spring draft at 160,000 men.
Vice Admiral Vladimir Tsimlyanskiy, deputy chief of the Russian Army’s General Staff, told state media that in 2024, conscription was set at 130,000 men and “that goal was fulfilled on time and in full.”
The local outlet Novosti Rostova reported that draft summons would also be distributed through managers at state-run companies and educational institutions.
Conscripts must report to recruiting offices and are obliged to serve for twelve months, Tsimlyanskiy said. Recruitment took place in two waves: the first in April and the second in July.
According to Tsimlyanskiy, recruitment priorities in 2024 include the Komi Republic, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Amur, Kaliningrad, Moscow, Bryansk, Rostov, Samara, Sakhalin, St. Petersburg, and Chelyabinsk regions. Crimea - described by him as Russian territory - was also listed as a key focus.
On March 20, Putin signed a law requiring Ukrainian citizens living in Russian-occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions to either “regulate their legal status” or leave. Ukrainians in those territories must obtain Russian passports by September 10 or be classified as “foreigners.”
Those labeled foreigners would then be subject to residency rules, including a maximum 90-day stay, mandatory medical exams, and work restrictions. Meanwhile, anyone forced to take a Russian passport automatically becomes eligible for conscription.