- Russia increased its military call-up age for men who completed compulsory service by five years.
- It also increased the age limit for its mobilized reserves, with some 70-year-olds able to be called up.
Russia's parliament has extended the maximum age at which men can be mobilized to serve in the military by five years, meaning that some as old as 70 can now be called up to fight, and potentially get sent to Ukraine.
Russia's State Duma said on Tuesday that it had adopted a new law raising the maximum age for men who previously completed military service by five years, meaning they can be mobilized until the age of 40, 50, or 55, depending on their category.
It also introduced a higher age limit for those in Russia's mobilized reserve. These are men who signed up to receive occasional military training and a stipend when their military service ends, according to Reuters.
The men with the highest ranks in the reserves can now be called up until the age of 70, while men with junior ranks can be called up until 60. General reservists can be brought back into service until the age of 55, up from 45 previously.
Russia has relied heavily on men with past military experience in its invasion of Ukraine, rather than announcing a mobilization of the general population.
The country's last big mobilization, of 300,000 reservists in September, resulted in an exodus of young Russians from the country, many of whom were scared they would be called up to fight.
Experts say that President Vladimir Putin wants to avoid a general call-up over fears of a backlash among the population.
Efforts are also underway to increase the upper age limit for men to be called up for compulsory military service from 27 to 30, according to Reuters.
The country is also making it harder for men to avoid serving in the military.
While Russia has a manpower advantage over Ukraine, given its significantly larger population, reports and Western intelligence point to poorly trained troops with low morale.
Some reservists called up to fight in September's mobilization were trained, sent to Ukraine, and killed in the span of just a month.