You are aware that every man in Russia is required to spend a year in the military or some form of equivalent service. This requirement was for men between the ages of 18 and 27 but has recently been changed to 21 to 30.
And yes, many men have left Russia to avoid fighting in Ukraine. Men are allowed to leave Russia if they have not been recently summoned for military service. While in Ukraine no men between the ages of 18 and 60 are allowed to leave the country. The Ukrainian boys my wife and I met were between the ages of 14 and 17.
“You are aware that every man in Russia is required to spend a year in the military or some form of equivalent service.”
Yep. Military service age and obligation: 18-27 years of age for compulsory or voluntary military service; males are registered for the draft at 17 years of age; one-year service obligation (Russia offers the option of serving on a two-year contract instead of completing a one-year conscription period);
reserve obligation for non-officers to age 50; enrollment in military schools from the age of 16, cadets classified as members of the armed forces (2019)
note: in April of 2019, the Russian government pledged its intent to end conscription
Russia extends conscription for compulsory military service up to age 30
Reuters
Russia extends conscription for compulsory military service up to age 30
July 25, 2023 12:10 PM EDT Updated 3 months ago
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-lawmakers-vote-raise-conscription-age-limit-30-2023-07-25/
July 25 (Reuters) - Russia’s lower house of parliament voted on Tuesday to raise the maximum age at which men can be conscripted to 30 years from 27, increasing the number of young men liable for a year of compulsory military service at any one time.
Last year, Russia announced a plan to boost its professional and conscripted combat personnel by more than 30% to 1.5 million, an ambitious task made harder by its heavy but undisclosed casualties in Ukraine.
The new legislation, which comes into effect on Jan. 1, means men will be required to carry out a year of military service, or equivalent training during higher education, between the ages of 18 and 30, rather than 18 and 27 as now.
The law also bans men from leaving Russia from the day they are summoned to a conscription office. In April, legislation was passed allowing conscription summonses to be served online instead of in person.
Compulsory military service has long been a sensitive issue in Russia, where many men go to great lengths to avoid being handed conscription papers during the twice-yearly call-up periods.
Conscripts cannot legally be deployed to fight outside Russia and were in theory exempted from a limited mobilization last autumn that gathered at least 300,000 men with previous military training to fight in Ukraine - although some conscripts were sent to the front in ‘error’.