MOSCOW, November 13 (RIA Novosti) - Several deferments will be abolished during the transition to a one-year draft, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Sunday.
"Only 9% of young people [in Russia] are currently drafted," the minister said in an interview with Russia's TV Channel One, adding that only 140,000 draftees would join the military this fall.
"However, when we make the transition to a 12-month draft, we will need twice as many soldiers, which means about 400,000 draftees, counting two drafts per year," the minister said. "Therefore, we will definitely have to abolish some of the deferments."
