Legerdienst mobilisatie en contractsoldaten

All male citizens between the ages of 18 and 30 are subject to compulsory military service. From the age of 18, they may be called up by the military commissariats for a medical and psychological examination. A call-up committee then decides whether they are suitable for military service and if they will actually be called up. Until the end of 2025, the military commissariats were only active during the call-up periods in spring and autumn, but from 2026 onwards they will be active throughout the year.

A minority of men who are eligible for conscription actually perform their military service.

Conscripts can appeal against a decision of the conscription committee. This appeal is not always suspensive.

It is possible to obtain a deferral or exemption from military service. Deferrals are temporary and may be granted for medical reasons, higher education or family circumstances, for example. An exemption may be granted for medical reasons, for alternative service, or for education. The medical criteria for obtaining a deferral or exemption were tightened in 2025.

In the first instance, authorities impose administrative fines for evading military service. These fines have increased in recent years. In addition, a number of restrictive measures may be imposed if a person does not report for duty within 20 days after their call-up date. These measures are currently only imposed to a limited extent. Criminal charges can only be brought after repeated evasion and in cases of clear intent to evade. The number of draft dodgers has not increased significantly since the invasion of Ukraine. Corruption is rife in the evasion of military service. Once a conscript has completed their military service, they can still be prosecuted for unauthorised absence or desertion.

Reports of raids and heavy-handed practices during the conscription process have emerged. The Russian authorities are taking active measures to ensure that persons who have acquired Russian citizenship also perform their compulsory military service.

The law provides for alternative military service, which can be obtained in practice. However, it is unclear how many applications are accepted.

Russian citizens can enlist in the Russian army on a contractual basis. Normally, they sign a fixed-term contract that they can terminate. However, since the 2022 mobilisation, all contracts have been of indefinite duration and cannot be terminated until the mobilisation is lifted — which has not yet happened. Various sources report that the Russian authorities are using the recruitment of contract soldiers to bolster their forces in Ukraine and avoid a new mobilisation. The authorities use financial incentives and propaganda to lure contract soldiers. Conscripts are also reportedly being pressured to sign contracts. Recent legislative changes permit the recruitment of prisoners and individuals facing criminal charges as contract soldiers.

The Russian army has reservists. On the one hand, there is the general military reserve, the zapas, and on the other hand, there is the more active rezerv, for which one signs a contract. Recent legislative changes allow for more active conscription of members of the rezerv.

A mobilisation involving some 300,000 troops took place at the end of 2022. There have been no further mobilisations since then. While it is impossible to predict whether or when a new mobilisation might take place, various analysts estimate that this is not very likely in the near future.

There are also limited conscription calls in the occupied Ukrainian territories.