Putin’s 2025 Plan: Aggressive Conscription Targets Young Russians, Raises Ethical Questions

Amid the fierce war with Ukraine, Russia is once again witnessing tremendous military activity. On the orders of President Vladimir Putin, a 'Maha Military Recruitment Campaign' is being conducted across the country from 1 April, in which about 1.6 lakh youth between the ages of 18 and 30 are being recruited into the army. Surprisingly, some of the youth who have received summons for recruitment are suffering from many diseases including hypertension and diabetes. This recruitment campaign is considered to be the biggest conscription drive after 2011.

Putin's big planning
Through this campaign, there is a plan to increase Russia's military strength to 2.5 million soldiers. Putin had mentioned this in a presidential order last year and now it has come to fruition. According to Russian media and human rights groups, this time the recruitment is being done more vigorously and aggressively than ever before.

Even sick Russians are being forcibly called into the army
According to Al Jazeera's report, a 21-year-old man living near Moscow says that he has a disease like hypertension, yet he was summoned for army recruitment. He says that he is forced to live in hiding these days and is hoping to apply for a medical exemption, because he is not getting any relief from the government.

Now the law has become strict in Russia
According to human rights activists, earlier young people were exempted from conscription on one or the other basis, but now the age limit has been fixed between 18 and 30 years. Earlier this limit was 27 years. Ivan Chuvilyaev, spokesman for an organization called "Go by the Forest", says, "Now anyone can get a summons and the way to avoid it has almost closed."

Is a major attack being prepared on Ukraine?
Even though the Russian Defense Ministry has claimed that these soldiers will not be sent to Ukraine, experts believe that this step could be a preparation to prolong the Ukraine war. Russia has needed huge manpower in the war that has been going on since 2022. According to estimates, Russia has lost close to a million soldiers in the war with Ukraine in the last three years. According to the British Defense Ministry, Russia has lost at least 5 lakh soldiers in the war with Ukraine.