Vladimir Putin signed the bill on "year-round conscription" into law. Conscription activities, including medical commissions and data check-ups, will now run throughout the year. The law, effective Jan. 1, 2026, will not change the existing dispatch periods, which remain from April 1 to July 15 and from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31. Furthermore, the appearance date on a draft notice posted in the Draft Register cannot exceed 30 days from its publication.
Russia's Ministry of Labor is proposing to make it easier for unemployed or job-seeking veterans of the war against Ukraine to access one-time government grants for opening their own business. The proposal involves amendments to the Law on State Social Assistance, which provides up to 350,000 rubles [$4,330] for starting a business and an additional 30,000 rubles [$370] for a three-month training course. Unlike other applicants, veterans would not need to meet a low-income requirement to secure the grant. To qualify, they would need to hold veteran status, be discharged from military service, be registered with the employment service, and obtain a recommendation from the Defenders of the Fatherland Fund. Service members with first...
The Federation Council [upper house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] approved a bill on "year-round conscription." If Putin signs it, the changes will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.
Vladimir Putin signed several bills into law. The changes, among other things:
Russia’s Ministry of Defense is launching an initiative to optimize economic and administrative processes outside combat operations, RBC [Russian media group] reports, citing sources. The effort to gradually phase out paper orders and logs will involve reorganizing document flow, state defense order procurement and repair processes for equipment and armaments. Minister of Defense Andrey Belousov created a "department for increasing the efficiency of activities" tasked with improving communication between units, reducing paperwork and eliminating non-core and redundant functions. This should, for example, accelerate military construction, medical services and the receipt of benefits for military personnel or their family members.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense plans to deploy reservists to protect civilian infrastructure from drone attacks deep inside the country’s territory. This is the explanation offered (1, 2) during a briefing on the federal bill that would allow the use of personnel from the mobilization reserve for defense tasks during peacetime and without declaring mobilization. According to Vice Admiral Vladimir Tsimlyansky, Deputy Head of the Main Organizational and Mobilization Directorate of the General Staff, the Ministry of Defense would send reservists to special "training courses" to guard energy, transport, and oil refining facilities, as well as other life-support infrastructure, if a corresponding presidential decree were issued. Tsimlyansky...
In a second reading, the State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] approved a bill on "year-round conscription." Medical examinations, psychological screenings and draft board meetings would run continuously from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, rather than only during the current spring and fall campaigns. The dispatch of conscripts to their units, however, will remain within the established windows of April 1 to July 15 and Oct. 1 to Dec. 31. Lawmakers introduced amendments ahead of the second reading stipulating that the appearance date on a draft notice posted in the Draft Register must not exceed 30 days from its publication, and the draft notices themselves should be enforceable nationwide.
Lawmakers introduced amendments to the year-round conscription bill ahead of its second reading. The amendments stipulate that the appearance date on a draft notice posted in the digital Draft Register cannot exceed 30 days from its publication. Legal experts suggest this restriction would protect citizens from excessive constraints on freedom of movement while ensuring the draft's efficiency. Moreover, if the amendments pass, draft notices would become enforceable nationwide. Draft offices would also gain the authority to issue electronic excerpts from the Draft Register to any individual liable for military service, not only to conscripts. Furthermore, draft boards could make decisions regarding deferrals, exemptions and fitness...
Based on economist Janis Kluge’s analysis of regional budget data, Russia recruited nearly 100,000 people for the war in the third quarter of 2025, averaging about 33,000 new contracts per month. This figure slightly exceeds the totals from the first and second quarters, when between 90,000 and 95,000 individuals enlisted. Kluge's method extrapolates recruitment figures from expenditure data on sign-up bonuses across 37 Russian regions. He previously noted that the average cost of recruiting a contract soldier grew from 1.5 million rubles [$19,000] in January 2025 to approximately 2 million rubles [$25,400], and is projected to reach 2.5 million rubles [$31,700] by the end of the year.
Russians enrolled in the mobilization reserve could take part in peacetime missions, including those abroad, without a formal declaration of mobilization. The government’s legislative commission approved a Ministry of Defense bill to amend the Military Conscription and Military Service Act. It would allow reservists to be sent to "perform specific defense tasks" during armed conflicts, counter-terrorism operations, or when the armed forces are used abroad. A new provision would allow authorities to summon them to special training sessions. The President would order the gatherings, the duration of which would not exceed two months. These changes would only affect citizens who have signed contracts to be in the active reserve and would...