Russia will begin conscription next week to replenish its armed forces and build up military reserves by calling up tens of thousands of soldiers.

Moscow says conscripts are not sent to fight in Ukraine but the draft – which happens twice a year – comes amid persistent rumors of a new wave of mobilization for the Ukraine offensive.

"The spring draft will be held from April 1," deputy head of the Defense Ministry's mobilization department, Rear Adm. Vladimir Tsimlyansky, said in a briefing Friday.

"Conscripts will not be sent to the armed forces' deployment points in the new regions of Russia – the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Kherson and Zaporozhzhia regions – or (be sent) to perform tasks of the special military operation," he added, using Russia's official language for its offensive against Ukraine.

Moscow unilaterally annexed the four Ukrainian regions in 2022 and has pressurized their residents to take Russian citizenship.

Some 147,000 conscripts were drafted during last year's spring call-ups. The army did not say how many it was targeting this year.

Russian men aged between 18 and 30 are eligible to be called up after lawmakers increased the upper age limit from 27 last year.

Military service lasts 12 months.

Conscripts face intense pressure once in the armed forces to sign voluntary military contracts that allow them to be sent to fight in Ukraine.

Fresh concerns

Russia says it recruited over 400,000 for its campaign last year, with the Defense Ministry offering high salaries for fighters.

It has been accused of focusing recruitment on Russia's poorest regions and ethnic republics.

Once conscripts have completed military service, they form part of Russia's military reserves and are liable to be sent to the front lines if mobilized in the future.

Mobilization rumors have persisted since the Kremlin forcibly drafted more than 300,000 in autumn 2022.

Putin said in December there was "no need" for another wave, pointing to successful recruitment efforts.

But his re-election victory earlier this month – combined with the Defense Ministry saying it would create two new armies by the end of the year and the Kremlin pointing at Ukraine for last week's deadly terrorist attack on a Moscow concert hall – have all triggered fresh concerns.

"By voting for Putin, you voted for mobilization," Abbas Gallyamov, a former speechwriter for the Russian leader and now an anti-Kremlin campaigner, said on Telegram last week.

The team of late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on Thursday urged people who are issued military summons to ignore them and not report to draft offices.

Putin said in December that 617,000 Russian servicemen were deployed in the "conflict zone."

He issued a decree last year that ordered the overall size of the army to be increased to 1.32 million troops, from its previous level of 1.15 million.