The Russian government plans to reduce the number of men of draft age who can be exempted from compulsory military service, TASS reported, citing a government document.
By law, all Russian men between the ages of 18 and 30 are subject to conscription, but can be exempted due to poor health or pre-existing chronic illnesses.
The new proposal calls for the share of exempted to be reduced to 17.5% by 2030 and to 16% by 2036, with the target for 2025 remaining at 19%. By comparison, in 2009, when the current criteria were introduced, about 30% of those eligible for conscription were declared "partially fit".
In February, the Defense Ministry proposed changes that would allow for the recruitment of people with certain diseases, including syphilis, hypertension and some forms of psychosis. The army explained that the goal was to improve the medical examination system by eliminating inaccuracies revealed during the war in Ukraine.
"The experience of mass examinations during the special military operation revealed inaccuracies and diagnostic criteria that require updating in accordance with modern medical standards," an official position of the Russian Defense Ministry at the time stated.
The number of new recruits in the Russian army has been growing since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. Between 2019 and 2022, the quota was stable — about 135,000 people per year. In 2023, the army will accept 147,000 people in the spring and another 130,000 in the fall.
In 2024, 150,000 men will be mobilized in the spring and 133,000 in the fall. In the spring of 2025, the target was increased to 160,000.
In April, President Vladimir Putin signed a law that allows men who were deemed fit but not sent to the army for health reasons to be called up without a new examination in the next campaign.