British intelligence explains why Russia is changing conscription age

The British Ministry of Defence reported this on Twitter.

British intelligence suggests that the Russian authorities are probably preparing to promote wider conscription to meet their military needs. Thus, on March 13, members of the Russian Duma introduced a bill to change the age limit for conscription of men from the current 18-27 years to 21-30 years. The law is likely to be passed and come into force in January 2024.

Since Soviet Union times, Russia has continued to hold conscriptions twice a year. They are different from the "partial" mobilisation that has been conducted since September 2022. Russia continues to officially deny that conscripts took part in the war against Ukraine, although at least hundreds of them took part in hostilities after being forced to sign contracts.

“Many 18-21 year old men currently claim exemption from the draft due to being in higher education. The authorities are highly likely changing the age bracket to bolster troop numbers by ensuring that students are eventually forced to serve. Even if Russia continues to refrain from deploying conscripts in the war, extra conscripts will free up a greater proportion of professional soldiers to fight,” the report says. 

• On February 21, the Main Intelligence Directorate reported that Russia plans to hold another wave of mobilization in March and is creating conditions for the conscription of students of higher education institutions.