Russia's would-be conscripts uneasy about army career

By AFP | 2025-10-27

Heading towards a conscription centre in northern Moscow, 22-year-old paramedic Grigory braved drizzly weather to find out if he needed to complete his year-long military service.

Though the tens of thousands of young men Russia calls up are stationed inside the country, legally banned from being deployed to combat, the Ukraine war still casts its shadow over the twice-a-year draft.

The training involving learning firearms skills and military discipline was once a stepping stone towards becoming a full-time soldier.

But many potential conscripts now hesitate over an army career.

Grigory, who refused to give his surname, spent several months as a volunteer nurse on the Russia-Ukraine border, where Kyiv has frequently launched retaliatory strikes.

Having seen war injuries, he said he was "not really" interested in becoming a full-time military medic.

"That's why I'm not there right now," he told AFP. "It takes a toll on a person. You know what human death is, right?"

As for the prospect of his year-long military service, he said he felt "neutral."

Conscripts aged 18-30

Russia conscripts men aged between 18 and 30 for compulsory military service each spring and autumn.

The numbers enlisted have been ratcheting up by about 5% a year since Moscow launched its offensive on Ukraine in 2022.

The current autumn draft aims to enlist 135,000 -- the most since 2016.

Moscow legally bars conscripts from being deployed to combat but after military service, men enter Russia's reserves, making them eligible to be drafted in future rounds of mobilization.

Most of the 300,000 reservists drafted to fight in Ukraine during mobilization in 2022 were former conscripts.

There have also been reports of conscripts being sent to the front. Russia's Defense Ministry admitted that some had been deployed by accident in the first weeks of the war.

There are also proposals to use conscripts to help defend Russian oil refineries that are coming under attack by Ukrainian drones.

For now, Russian authorities still favor voluntary recruitment over mobiliation for those on the front, promising generous salaries and social benefits to new recruits.

The army also denies pressuring conscripts to sign army contracts during their service and encourages them to report cases of "coercion" to military prosecutors.

'My friend was taken away'

Along with increasing the size of the draft, Russia is also making it harder to dodge.

Authorities now keep an electronic database of men subject to conscription and send summonses digitally, replacing the Soviet-era paper system that allowed those who changed address to easily avoid a call-up.

Exemptions and deferrals still exist, particularly for students and for medical reasons.

One man whom AFP met outside a Moscow conscription center said he suffered from "severe asthma."

He was not keen on the idea of an army contract.

"I doubt it," he told AFP, when asked if he was interested in an army contract.

"My friend was taken away, and I don't really want to. He was wounded," he said, asking to speak anonymously.

In the city of Vladimir, around 180km (112 miles) east of Moscow, 18-year-old Anton was also adamant he would not join and has requested a deferral to finish his studies.

He told AFP outside a conscription center that he was "not a fan of military matters" and did not know why the war in Ukraine started, even if he believed service was his duty.

A little further away, fitness enthusiast Maxim said he would start his military service "in the next few weeks."

He does not see himself signing up to go to Ukraine after his year in training either.

"Maybe I'll try my luck with the Rosgvardia," he said, referring to the Russian National Guard, an internal security force that has also deployed behind the front lines in Ukraine.