Russia’s government is seeking to reduce the number of draft-age men who can receive exemptions from mandatory military service, the state-run TASS news agency reported Sunday, citing a government document it obtained.
Under current law, Russian men between the ages of 18 and 30 are subject to conscription but can obtain an exemption for poor health or pre-existing conditions.
A government proposal outlining criteria for mandatory military service calls for the share of exempt men to be reduced to 17.5% by 2030 and to 16% by 2036, TASS reported.
The 2024 target remained unchanged at 19%.
According to the government document, around 30% of draft-eligible Russians were classified as “partially fit” for military service in 2009, when the existing criteria were introduced.
In February, the Defense Ministry proposed changes to its rules on military medical examination that would allow individuals with medical conditions, including syphilis, hypertension and select forms of psychosis, to be conscripted.
In a statement at the time, the Defense Ministry said that “the new regulations are designed to improve the system of medical examinations” for soldiers deployed to the front lines in Ukraine.
“Тhe experience of mass examinations during the special military operation revealed inaccuracies and diagnostic criteria that require updates to align with current medical standards,” the military added.
Biannual conscription quotas are determined by President Vladimir Putin and have increased since the invasion of Ukraine.
Between 2019 and 2022, the annual draft quota remained stable at approximately 134,500 to 135,000 conscripts.
In spring 2023, 147,000 conscripts were enlisted into the army, with an additional 130,000 being enlisted that fall. That upward trend continued into 2024, with 150,000 men being recruited in the spring and 133,000 in the fall.
By the spring 2025 conscription campaign, the target had risen to 160,000 new conscripts.
In April, Putin signed a law stipulating that if an individual is declared fit for service but does not join the army for health reasons, military enlistment officers may order them to serve at the start of the next conscription campaign without a new medical examination or conscription decision being required.
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