Russia’s parliament on Wednesday passed a law removing the upper age limit for military service due to heavy casualties in Ukraine.
Deputies in the Lower House of the Duma passed the law in three sessions in a single session, and the Upper House, the Federation Council, gave its approval soon after. The bill now only needs President Vladimir Putin’s sanction to become law.
Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said: “Today we especially need to strengthen our Armed Forces and help the Ministry of Defense. Our Commander-in-Chief is doing everything for our Armed Forces to win, and we need to help.”
Currently, only Russians aged 18 to 40 and foreigners aged 18 to 30 can join the Russian Armed Forces as professional soldiers.
Russian forces suffered significant losses in the conflicts in Ukraine.
The Defense Ministry said on March 25 that 1,351 Russian soldiers have been killed and 3,825 wounded since Moscow sent its armed forces to Ukraine on February 24. Since then, the ministry has not updated the casualty figures.
Both Ukrainian and Western intelligence officials said Russia’s casualties in Ukraine were significantly higher at the time and had increased sharply since March.
source: Noticias
