Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to conscript 150,000 citizens as part of the spring conscription campaign, as reported by Russia's Defense Ministry on March 31.

The conscription campaign, which occurs twice a year in spring and fall, targets all Russian men aged 18-30 for one year of mandatory military service. Despite the mandatory service requirement, many individuals find ways to avoid serving. The maximum conscription age was raised from 27 to 30 in July 2023.

According to Russian law, conscripts mobilized as part of routine conscription are prohibited from being deployed abroad to engage in combat, including in Ukraine. However, the U.K.'s Defense Ministry stated in March 2023 that hundreds of individuals may have served in Ukraine due to "administrative mix-ups" or coercion into signing contracts.

In the previous conscription round in September 2023, 130,000 men were called up for service. This campaign also extended to the illegally annexed areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

The U.K. Defense Ministry suggested on March 30 that Russia is recruiting approximately 30,000 individuals monthly to support its war efforts.

Andrii Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's military intelligence, noted that with the conclusion of the controversial presidential election, Russia may be able to conduct mobilization more openly. (ILKHA)