The Russian government extended the age limit for conscription to 30 - effective from January 1, 2024.

These changes were approved on Friday, November 24, as a result of the adoption of the relevant legislation by the Russian parliament, Interfax reported.

Now, men aged 18 to 30 will be enlisted from the beginning of 2024, while previously, the maximum age was 27.

Alexei Tabalov, director of Shkola Prizyvnika (“Conscript School”), told The Insider that the age of conscription increase will impact two million Russians, shifting the country into a “military mode of existence.”

According to Tabalov, the new laws will enable the state to expand the pool of potential contract soldiers, while the men now fighting in Ukraine will be able to stay at the front line even longer.

“Certainly, the adoption of this bill and other changes, such as increasing the deadline for being in the mobilization reserve, increasing the term of conscription for compulsory service — all this indicates that Russia is preparing for a protracted and long military confrontation not only with Ukraine, but also with the entire Western world.

In general, the state and society are being shiften to a military mode of existence. Increasing the reserve age by five years allows the state to keep people at the front for longer periods, avoiding dismissals of those aged 50 and above, and also expands the pool of mobilized and potential contract soldiers.

Igor Efremov, a researcher at the Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy states:

Based on current population statistics in 2022 (excluding migration from 2022), there are approximately 6.78 million potential conscripts. By 2024, this number is expected to reach 6.8 million, according to Efremov.

When the draft age is increased to 30 years in 2024, the number of potential conscripts will amount to 9.14 million people, followed by 9.13 million in 2025, 9.16 million in 2026, 9.28 million in 2027, eventually growing to 9.9 million people by 2030.