President Putin Issues Military Mandatory Decree To Recruit 133 Thousand Russian Soldiers In Fall

President Putin signed a Russian military service ceremony. (Source: Alexander Kazakov/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office via TASS)

JAKARTA - Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a mandatory military service for 133,000 Russians during the fall which began on October 1 and lasts until the end of the year, according toTEN Kremlin published on Monday.

The decree, published in Russian government-owned newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, calls for carrying out military service for citizens "aged 18 to 30 years, which are not included in reserves and conscription in accordance with Federal Law in 133,000 people."

Head of Russia's military service office Deputy Admiral Vladimir Tsimlyansky said the terms of military service remained the same: served for 12 months in military units in Russia.

"I would like to note that military service will not be called to participate in special military operations in the new region," Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported, citing Tsimlyansky's statement.

Russia called its war in Ukraine, which began with a full-scale invasion in February 2022, a special military operation. Meanwhile, Kyiv and its allies called it an unwarranted imperialist attempt to seize the land.

In a move condemned by much of the Western world, Russia annexed parts of Ukraine's southeastern region by the end of 2022, calling the region a 'new region.'

Citing the growing threat on Russia's western border, President Putin ordered an increase in the number of Russian troops by September, bringing the country to 1.5 million active soldiers, a move that would make it the world's second-largest active military force after China.

Separately, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, US President Joe Biden, and other NATO leaders blamed Putin for being the only aggressor in the conflict, opening up new tabs in Ukraine, and posing a threat to his other neighbors.