The bill, drafted by the Defense Ministry, was entered into the lower chamber's database on the evening of Friday, 9 October.
Under current rules, the maximum service age for women is 45. Women officers may remain in the reserve until 50, and women of other ranks until 45. The bill proposes shifting both ceilings by five years. For women officers, that would mean they could be called up for mobilization or military training until 55; for other ranks, until 50.
In an explanatory note, the authors attribute the initiative to the need to create "additional social guarantees" for servicewomen. They say the current maximum age does not always allow women to complete the service terms that confer entitlement to pensions and other benefits.
The Defense Ministry elaborated on the rationale to RBC: at least 20 calendar years of service are required for a preferential pension. Women who sign a contract after age 25 do not reach that threshold by 45, whereas graduates of military educational institutions gain a five-year advantage in service length.
The document also refers to the realities of the war in Ukraine. The government noted that women service members make up the bulk of personnel in medical units, "including those who have reached (are reaching) the maximum age." The Defense Ministry said demand for qualified personnel is high and that the skills of experienced women are critically important to the army.
Timofei Vaskin, head of the legal department at the Conscript's School, told Novaya Gazeta Europe that the law's main purpose is to prevent women from leaving the service under open-ended contracts. According to him, the authorities are "simply extending their right of ownership over people."