Russia plans to begin conscripting men from occupied Ukraine, MOD says
Russia is attempting to conscript men from occupied regions of Ukraine to fight in its army, according to the UK's Ministry of Defence (MOD).
In its latest defence intelligence update, the MOD cite a decree signed in April by the Moscow-installed governor of the occupied Zaporizhzhia region, which states "That Russia is preparing the necessary infrastructure and measures for military conscription in Russian-occupied areas of Zaporizhzhia".
In December 2023, Human Rights Watch said that "Russia’s practice of compelling Ukrainian residents in occupied areas to serve in its armed forces is a war crime".
Russia's current conscription rules require all healthy men aged between 18 and 30 to serve one year of compulsory military service, with those served draft notices banned from leaving the country.
Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk were all illegally occupied by Russia in 2022, while Crimea was annexed in 2014.
It is Russia's first conscription drive in this occupied area, and according to the MOD, "Is likely that Russia sees this measure as a way of satisfying the need by the Russian Armed Forces for additional personnel to support its war effort".
However, it is likely to be of limited effect as a significant proportion of the population of Zaporizhzhia has departed, with only 40% of the prewar population remaining - half of which are ethnic Russians offered work in the city.
The MOD say that the decree is "Part of a broader campaign by the Russian authorities in the temporarily occupied territories to coerce the population to accept Russian governance".
Other recent efforts of Moscow's "relentless Russification policy" include the need for those living in occupied Ukraine to hold a Russian passport and to vote in recent Russian presidential elections.
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