"On April 1, Russia began a new conscription drive with the goal of enlisting 160,000 military-age men between 18 and 30.
"It is the largest such call-up since 2011, aiming to fulfil last year’s presidential decree to boost the armed forces to 2.5 million personnel....
"“A year ago there was an age amendment, and now summons are issued to young people from 18-30 years old,” Ivan Chuviliaev, spokesman for the organisation Go By The Forest, which helps people escape the ranks, told Al Jazeera.
"Previously, the maximum age for conscription was 27."
100,000 dead contributes to that need.
Russia is already in a deep demographic bubble and Putin just keeps digging. Putin wants to be remembered. He may be remembered as the guy who made ethnic Russians a tiny minority of whatever replaces the PRC as it expands north and west.
The maximum conscription age is usually a sign of desperation. I believe the U.S. was conscrpting 45-year-olds at end of WW2.
UPDATE: A reader noticed this was only a 20% increase in total conscripts. Older but not necessarily a huge increase in total soldiers.
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