Putin orders more than 100,000 new troops to frontline in largest conscription since 2016
Russia faces mounting losses along the 1000km Ukraine frontline
Vladimir Putin has called up more than 100,000 men for military service.
Listen to this article
Russia is preparing for its largest military call-up in nearly a decade, with President Vladimir Putin ordering 135,000 men aged 18 to 30 into routine service between October and December.
The Kremlin insists conscription is not the same as mobilisation for combat in Ukraine. However, reports suggest conscripts have previously been sent to the front line after completing training
This comes as Russia battles mounting losses along a 1,000-kilometre front line.
Read More: Poland closes airspace after 'massive' Russia attack in Ukraine's capital kills at least four
According to the UK Ministry of Defence, over one million Russian troops have been killed or wounded since the war began in 2022.
Putin has steadily increased conscription by around 5% each year and last September expanded the military to 1.5 million active personnel, making it one of the world’s largest armed forces.
With an additional 160,000 men drafted this spring, 2025 is on course to see the heaviest recruitment drive since 2016.
Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelensky used a speech to the Warsaw Security Forum to call for a joint air defence shield with allies to protect against Russian airspace violations.
“Ukraine can counter all kinds of Russian drones and missiles and if we act together in the region we will have enough weapons and production capacity,” he said, proposing concrete bunkers and anti-drone nets around energy facilities.
His call came after Russian drones crossed into Polish territory earlier this month and forced Copenhagen Airport to close temporarily.
Germany’s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, backed closer industrial cooperation, saying: “Europe’s and Ukraine’s defence industry must work together more closely and effectively.
The EU must provide a much more flexible regulatory framework for the defence industry.”
From the Labour conference in Liverpool, UK Defence Secretary John Healey urged the Kremlin to pursue diplomacy. “Our message to Moscow from Liverpool today is this: President Putin, you will not win.
"Stop the killing, start the talks, agree to a peace.
"We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes."
