MOSCOW, July 21. /TASS/. Under a bill to increase the maximum conscription age for compulsory military service in Russia, the conscription age bracket will be 18 to 30 years old, State Duma Defense Committee Chairman Andrey Kartapolov told reporters on Friday, commenting on amendments to the bill as it undergoes the crucial second reading in the lower house of the Federal Assembly, Russia’s parliament.

"The key amendment is that the upper age ceiling [in the conscription age bracket] will be set at 30 years old, while the decision was made to leave the lower age limit at 18, as there are many young people who would like to enlist for military service at the age of 18, and that opportunity is currently available to them," the senior Russian lawmaker said.

In its first reading version, the bill had initially called for raising the lower age limit for men to be called up for compulsory military service from 18 to 21 years old.

The new rules, to take effect on January 1, 2024 should the bill be enacted into law, would not affect new troops called up this fall, Kartapolov specified.

The bill was initially submitted in March by a coalition of lawmakers led by Kartapolov, and the Duma passed it in the first reading last month. Originally, it had proposed a gradual change in the compulsory conscription age bracket: first to 19-30 years old in 2024, then to 20-30 years old in 2025, and finally to 21-30 years old in 2026. But, younger volunteers would still have had the option of enlisting for military service at 18.