The Russian Ministry of Defense has proposed amendments to establish a “single age limit for service during the period of mobilization” for all contract and mobilized soldiers: up to 70 years for senior officers and up to 65 years for all others. The text of the document was published on the federal portal of draft regulatory legal acts.
“During the period of mobilization, during martial law or in wartime, the following age limit for military service is established for male military personnel serving under a contract in the RF Armed Forces, and citizens of the Russian Federation called up for military service upon mobilization in the RF Armed Forces: having military rank of senior officer up to and including colonel general, admiral — 70 years; those with a different military rank — 65 years,” the text of the draft says.
In the explanatory note to the document, the authors noted that now the law does not have a rule on the age limit for mobilization for those who signed a contract before June 24, 2023 or were mobilized, and this age is established only for men who entered into a contract after this date.
“The bill eliminates this uncertainty,” the note says. “The adoption of the bill will ensure the required level of staffing of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, while preventing a decrease in the level of combat readiness and combat capability of associations, formations and military units during a special military operation.”
In July 2023, Vladimir Putin signed a law raising the age limit for being in the reserve by five years: for those liable for military service belonging to the first category, it increased from 35 to 40 years, for the second category — from 45 to 50 years, for the third — from 50 to 55 years old.
Last August, the Russian president signed a law raising the upper draft age limit for military service by three years — from 27 to 30 years old, according to the document, the changes will take effect this year, and on the ban on conscripts leaving the country from the day the summons is entered into the unified register.