Russia completes 135,000 autumn conscription as Putin sets 261,000 target for 2026

Russia has said it has concluded its autumn 2025 military draft, calling up 135,000 conscripts for service, whilst President Vladimir Putin signed a decree creating a new target of 261,000 conscripts for 2026, the Defence Ministry and TASS reported on December 29.

The Ukraine war has triggered a silent exodus from Russia, with roughly 800,000–900,000 citizens leaving the country and up to 700,000 believed to have fled or tried to flee conscription since 2022, while OSINT estimates suggest as many as 70,000 soldiers could desert from the army in 2025 alone.

This mix of draft dodgers and battlefield deserters does not have a precise official tally, but taken together, it points to a level of resistance to mobilisation large enough to force the Kremlin into tougher digital draft laws and border controls for military‑age men.

Putin signed the 2026 conscription decree for citizens aged 18 to 30 not in reserve, to serve from January 1 to December 31, 2026, marking the first time annual conscription targets have been published in a single decree following implementation of year-round military draft legislation.

The autumn 2025 call-up followed Presidential Decree No 690 issued on September 29, 2025, mobilising 135,000 conscripts for the Russian Armed Forces and other troops and military formations.

Conscripts had the right to choose military service in various branches and armed services, taking into account health conditions and the results of psychological selection.

Most conscripts were assigned to training units and military formations to learn to operate modern military hardware and acquire military specialities.

Putin previously signed two separate decrees before spring and autumn drafts with conscript numbers specified individually. The current decree represents the first unified annual conscription target under new year-round draft legislation.