Russia’s lower house of parliament voted on Tuesday to raise the maximum age at which men can be conscripted to 30 years from 27, increasing the number of young men liable for a year of compulsory military service at any one time.
Last year, Russia announced a plan to boost its professional and conscripted combat personnel by more than 30 per cent to 1.5 million, an ambitious task made harder by its heavy but undisclosed casualties in Ukraine.
The new legislation, which comes into effect on Jan. 1, means men will be required to carry out a year of military service, or