Russia is forced to raise the age limit for conscription to supply its army

On Tuesday, the State Duma, or the lower house of the Russian parliament, adopted a legislative amendment establishing it age of military service between 18 and 30 years, although previously, in the first reading, he raised the minimum age from 18 to 21 years. The amendment changes the maximum age at which Russian citizens can be called up for compulsory military service, which is a constitutional duty, from 27 to 30.

“The main amendment is that the maximum age is increased to 30 years. It was decided to leave the minimum age at 18, because there are many boys who want to serve in the military at the age of 18,” said the chairman of the Duma Committee for Defense and Security Andrej Kartapolov. However, the text approved in the first reading already provided for the possibility of voluntary military service at the age of 18.

The reason for increasing the maximum age for military service is to compensate for the reduction in the number of citizens who can be called up. Kartapolov indicated that the duration of military service remains unchanged: one year. “You don’t have to serve two years, there’s no need. Today, our young people are able to acquire a military specialty in six months,” said the lawmaker, a retired general.

The deputies also approved an amendment that allows the heads of federal entities to establish auxiliary companies for the Armed Forces and security in periods of mobilization, state of emergency and war, but for this they will have to have the authorization of the head of state. The amendments, which still have to be approved by the Senate and announced by President Vladimir Putin, will enter into force on January 1, 2024, reports Efe.

He proposed the initiative to increase the age for military service at the end of 2022 Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoiguand it came after hundreds of thousands of men of military age left Russia following the mobilization ordered by the Russian president in September 2022.

Shoigu also proposed in January increase the number of members of the Armed Forces to 1.5 million by 2026 (this year 1.15 million), as well as an increase in the number of professional soldiers to 695,000.

On the other hand, two new military districts will be created, those in Moscow and Leningrad, as well as an army corps in the Republic of Karelia, which borders Finland, and groups in the “new entities” of Russia, the Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk and Luhansk, which were annexed by the Kremlin in September.

The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is once again causing concern after the discovery of a mine

The Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant sparked renewed concern on Tuesday after the UN Atomic Energy Agency found mines around its perimeter and Kiev warned of nuclear and radiological safety risks associated with changing the status of one of its six reactors. The mines were found by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors permanently deployed at the plant in the buffer zone between the plant’s inner and outer perimeters. Russia claims that this is a military decision and that the mines are in an area restricted to plant personnel, in addition to being “behind” the plant.

The IAEA believes that “any detonation of these mines should not affect the nuclear safety or safety systems of the plant”, but stresses that in any case their presence “does not comply with safety standards”.