Russia is set to start its military draft for the fall of 2025 by sending out digital summons exclusively in at least four regions, including Moscow, a high-ranking military official announced on Tuesday.

President Vladimir Putin recently signed a decree calling up 135,000 men for mandatory service from October 1 to December 31, marking the largest conscription push in nearly a decade.

“Citizens will receive both electronic and traditional paper summons. However, in the republic of Mari El, the Ryazan region, the Sakhalin region, and Moscow, only digital notifications will be issued,” Yevgeny Burdinsky, a senior military official, stated in an interview with the Defense Ministry’s newspaper, Krasnaya Zvezda.

The digital military summons system in Russia automatically imposes restrictions on draftees, such as travel bans, if they fail to report for duty. An online notification is regarded as effectively delivered seven days after it is posted, regardless of whether the recipient has viewed it.

In April 2023, President Putin enacted a law reforming the country’s draft process by launching the electronic summons initiative and establishing a centralized digital registry of eligible men.

This registry enables authorities to issue summons via the online government platform Gosuslugi, through mail, or using the newly created digital database, thus removing the necessity for face-to-face delivery, which had previously made it easier to evade conscription.

According to the new legislation, men who disregard their summons for over 20 days may face driving restrictions, as well as limitations on loans and real estate transactions.

In the past week, Russia’s State Duma passed a bill during its first of three readings that would pave the way for implementing a year-round conscription model starting next year.