The head of the Federation Council Defense Committee, Viktor Bondarev, spoke in favor of a gradual increase in the draft age to 21 years

Earlier, the Duma discussed maintaining the lower bar at the level of 18 years, while raising the upper one to 30 years.

The head of the Defense Committee of the Federation Council, Viktor Bondarev, called for a phased increase in the draft age to 21. this He announced on his telegram channel.

“In my opinion, what the Minister of Defense spoke about and what the president supported should be fixed: the lower limit of the draft age should be 21 years old, the upper one - 30 years old. Admission from the age of 18 should be more of an exception to the rule, and not a universal practice, ”said the senator.

According to him, the amendment was not submitted to the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security.

“If the State Duma has time to adopt the bill no later than July 27, then we are ready to consider it on July 28 at the plenary session. But again, I repeat: with an amendment to increase the draft age to 21, ”added Bondarev.

Senator Bondarev's statement was also supported by Andrei Klishas, ​​Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation: “I fully agree with my colleague Senator, Hero of Russia Viktor Bondarev. The general rule is 21 years old and 30 years old is the age of conscription,” Klishas wrote in his Telegram channel.

Earlier, the head of the State Duma Defense Committee, Andrey Kartapolov , said that the committee supported the amendment to raise the upper limit of the draft age for military service to 30 years, while maintaining the lower bar at 18 years.

“The main amendment is that the upper limit is 30 years. It was decided to leave the lower limit of the draft age at 18, because a lot of guys want to go to serve at the age of 18,” said Kartapolov.

At the moment, this decision is not reflected in the Duma database of bills. According to it, the document is still adopted only in the first reading. The table recommended for the adoption of amendments did not appear on it. Preparations for the second reading, which may be amended, must be completed by 28 July.

In June, deputies of the State Duma adopted in the first reading a bill on a phased increase in the draft age, which provides for a transitional period until 2026.

According to the document, citizens aged:

• from 19 to 30 years old (from January 1 to December 31, 2024);

• from 20 to 30 years (from January 1 to December 31, 2025);

• from 21 to 30 years (from January 1, 2026).