Russia Moves To Year-Round Military Draft, Anticipating Extended Ukraine Fight

The Russian government is preparing to expand military conscription in order to ensure steady flow of manpower related to its Ukraine ‘special military operation’.

Russia’s State Duma (lower house) has approved legislation on Tuesday that will shift the country’s military to a year-round conscription model beginning next year, part of the broader push to boost troop numbers related to Ukraine, the regional monitor Moscow Times says.

A key change is that draft boards will be able to carry out medical examinations, psychological evaluations, and other enlistment procedures at any point throughout the year, instead of just during designated draft periods as the policy currently stands.

According to more from the publication:

Supporters of the reform say it is designed to ease the administrative burden on military recruitment offices and better distribute workload across the year.

The bill’s explanatory notes say the new system will improve the quality of conscription and reduce bottlenecks during the bi-annual surge.

All of this strongly points to the Kremlin anticipating that the deadly war will grind on possibly for years more to come. It has already been going for well over three years, since the full-scale invasion of Feb. 2022.

Prior to that, the Donbass civil war pitted pro-Russian autonomous republics against the Ukrainian army and its associated militias in the region. But at this point, Russia has still not officially mobilized society for what meets the (domestic) legal definition “war”, as it’s instead a Special Military Operation (SMO).

What were previously high hopes for President Trump to broker a Ukraine peace deal have faded, and the much talked about Budapest summit with Putin has been put on indefinite hold.

Putin could also be anticipating expanding battlelines based on the Western military alliance pouring more weapons into the conflict – for example long-range missiles from the US and UK.

Recruitment methods in Russia have been less controversial than the desperate tactics often on display in Ukraine…

Russia recruits by offering $73,000 USD for signing a contract, or about 6x the avg. annual wage.

Ukraine recruits by sneaking up behind random men and kidnapping them right off the street. pic.twitter.com/2jUPVbQ2gr

— Chebureki Man (@CheburekiMan) October 4, 2025

Moscow might also now be flexing back, showing that it can outlast its enemies in this war of attrition, even as the US and EU impose maximal sanctions, which just happened with the sanctioning of two Russian oil giants.