The media drew attention to a draft law aimed at raising the discharge age for mobilized and contract soldiers, noting that it had disappeared from the regulatory portal for draft laws. Viktor Sobolev, a member of Russia’s State Duma Defense Committee, told socialbites.ca that the removal of the bill from the site “means nothing yet” and pledged to look into why it was taken down. He suggested the move could be linked to the approaching presidential election and promised there would be an inquiry to determine who deleted the document and for what reason.
“I will go to the Duma to sort this out. There may have been some unhappy parties involved; elections are close, and people are playing it safe. I don’t know for sure. We need to identify who removed it and why. There is a lot to do today, and I will find out what happened to the draft,” he stated, emphasizing that the matter at hand had not been resolved.
On February 8, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced a draft law proposing a uniform age limit for mobilization service aboard all contract soldiers. The proposal, published on the portal of regulatory drafts, sets the discharge age for all senior officers at 70 and for other contract soldiers at 65 during mobilization. The accompanying explanatory note argued that adopting this measure would ensure a steady supply of qualified personnel and preserve the army’s combat effectiveness.
The ministry noted that current federal law already restricts mobilization age, but only for personnel who entered into a contract after July 24, 2023.
By February 11, media outlets reported again that the draft law increasing the mobilization discharge age had been removed from the portal.
In related remarks, President Vladimir Putin had previously indicated that roughly 1,500 Russian men sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense each day, a figure often cited in discussions about manpower and recruitment trends. (Source: socialbites.ca)