Russia’s parliament on Tuesday raised the maximum age at which men can be mobilized for military service by at least five years – for high-ranking officers – to 70, Reuters reported.

Last September, Russia announced its first mobilization since World War II, calling up more than 300,000 reservists in an often chaotic emergency call-up to support its war in Ukraine, a campaign that has been longer and more grueling than Moscow expected and shows no signs of end.

Russia is raising the age limit for male conscription from 27 to 30 and has made it harder for young men to evade the draft by sending conscription orders by mail.

The law adopted on Tuesday allows men who have completed military service without any other obligations to be mobilized until the age of 40, 50 or 55, depending on the category, the State Duma website reports. In all cases, the age limit has been increased by five years.

In Russia, there is also a “mobilized reserve” of men who signed up for periodic military training and scholarships after the end of term or professional service.

The new law means that those in this reserve with the highest ranks can now be called up until age 70, rather than 65.

Defense Minister Serhii Shoigu said that he plans to increase the basic number of active combat personnel – professional servicemen under contract and conscripts – to 1.5 million from 1.15 million.

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