Russia wants to double the length of conscription for military recruits

Russia will double length of service for conscripts to bolster its crumbling military.
A senior military commissar let the dynamite plan out of his pocket in a television interview, which is likely to spark a major backlash among Russians.
The aim of the “Back to the USSR” conscription program appears to be to provide Vladimir Putin with even more young men as cannon fodder for his war in Ukraine.
The program was announced by Lt. Col. Mikhail Fotin, who said on video that 18-27 year olds will have to serve in the military for a year and a half from spring 2023, rising to two years from recruitment next fall.
Such a change would restore the Soviet Union’s conscription system, which was abolished after its dissolution in 1991.
Since 2008, men have been subject to a year’s conscription, and Fotin blamed the changes on NATO expansion near Russia’s borders.
The Russian Defense Ministry declined to comment on the plan, which sparked a social media frenzy when it was announced, and immediate orders were made to remove Fotin’s explosive video from TV screens.
The commissioner from the Moscow region had said: “There will be a transitional period in the spring [2023].
“Citizens drafted in the spring will serve a year and a half.
“And those drafted in the fall of 2023 will serve two years.
“I find this decision quite logical given our northern neighbors [Sweden and Finland] join NATO.’
Such a draft plan was not officially announced, but there were strong rumors that Putin wanted to wait until after the New Year holidays in Russia to unveil the bomb.
The conscription system for 18- to 27-year-olds is separate from Putin’s controversial draft of over 300,000 “reservists” called up earlier this year as part of the Kremlin’s “partial mobilization” for combat in Ukraine.
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https://metro.co.uk/2022/12/17/russia-set-to-double-the-length-of-conscription-for-military-recruits-17955416/ Russia wants to double the length of conscription for military recruits