Even after raising the draft age, it will be possible to voluntarily join the army at 18

If a law on a phased increase in the draft age is adopted, nothing will change in the work of military training centers, Andrey Kartapolov, chairman of the Duma Defense Committee, told Vedomosti. “They have worked and will continue to work. We specifically prescribed that, despite the increase in the draft age, a person has the opportunity to voluntarily enter military service by conscription from the age of 18,” he said.

A bill on a phased increase in the draft age was submitted to the State Duma on March 13: it was initiated by Kartapolov, as well as his deputies on the committee Andrei Krasov and Yuri Shvytkin. The bill proposes a gradual increase in the draft age from 18 to 21 years, and the maximum – from 27 to 30 years. For example, in 2024 they will call up from 19 to 30 years old, in 2025 – from 20 to 30 years old, and from January 1, 2026 – from 21 to 30 years old. The explanatory note states that raising the lower limit of the draft age to 21 will make it possible to receive a guaranteed secondary general, secondary vocational and even higher education.