Vladimir Putin has announced the conscription of an additional 150,000 men for the Russian army, marking the highest number in eight years.
This decision coincides with orders for Orthodox priests to offer prayers in churches for the dictator’s victory in the ongoing war. The conscripts, aged 18 to 30, will undergo compulsory military service between April 1 and July 15 amid Russia’s conflict with Ukraine.
Although Russia has pledged that these conscripts will not be deployed to the conflict zone in Ukraine, previous assurances have been broken, leading to concerns that they may still be deployed to border regions under attack from Ukraine, such as Belgorod and Kursk.
Furthermore, conscripts often face pressure to sign contracts as full-fledged soldiers, which could potentially result in their deployment to the frontline.
Traditionally, Russia conducts conscription drives in the spring and autumn, with this being the first recruitment campaign since Putin raised the maximum conscription age from 27 to 30. This surge in recruitment follows an amendment to increase the conscription age, allowing Russians aged 18 to 30 to serve.
The heightened recruitment efforts coincide with expectations that Putin will push for a military offensive in the coming months to exploit Ukraine’s limited access to Western weapons.
Orthodox priests have been instructed to pray for a Russian victory, with Metropolitan Gregory of Voskresensky issuing a written order to clerics to pray for the nation’s triumph. Failure to comply with this directive may result in defrocking, as outlined in a church order from Patriarch Kirill.
This development marks the first official document regulating internal church support for the war, as highlighted by journalist and religious scholar Ksenia Luchenko.
