The army will call up 235 thousand people by force. No one can refuse

• According to the draft regulation just issued by the Ministry of Defence, the deadline for announcing next year's military qualification has been set for January 16, 2026.
• The project specifies the period of military qualification from February 2 to April 30, 2026.
• The age groups and groups of people who are required to report for military qualifications have also been defined.
• In total, this obligation will cover approximately 235,000 people in 2026.

On July 1, the Ministry of National Defence published a draft regulation on conducting military qualifications in 2026.

The purpose of conducting the military qualification is to assess the physical and mental fitness for active military service of approximately 235 thousand people who will be required to report for military qualification in 2026.

- informs the Ministry of National Defense.

The regulations specify the date of announcement of the military qualification, its duration, as well as the groups of persons subject to the obligation to report for military qualification in 2026.

Voivodes and starosts are responsible for conducting the military qualification , while commune heads, mayors and city presidents are responsible for ensuring attendance at the military qualification.

In turn, the determination of the fitness for military service of persons reporting for military qualifications will be carried out by the provincial medical boards, which also supervise the activities of the district medical boards.

According to the regulation, the date for announcing next year's military qualification has been set for 16 January 2026. In the justification for the regulation, the Ministry of National Defence indicates the "necessity to announce the date of the military qualification at least fourteen days earlier than the day it begins".

The draft regulation proposes a military qualification period from 2 February to 30 April 2026 - excluding public holidays.

- The proposed time frame results from the expected number of approximately 235,000 people who will be required to report for military qualification in 2026, assuming the operation of approximately 391 district medical boards adjudicating up to 35 people per day, taking into account the simultaneous work of no more than 2-3 boards carrying out tasks in the area administered by one military recruitment center - explains the Ministry of National Defense.

The project includes the following age groups and groups of people who will be required to report for military qualification in 2026:

• 19-year-old men (born in 2007) , the so-called basic age group,
• men aged 20-24 (born in the years 2002-2006) , so-called older generations, who have not yet fulfilled the obligation to report for military qualification and therefore do not have a declared category of fitness for active military service;
• persons who were deemed temporarily unfit for military service in 2024 and 2025 (capacity categories B6 to B24), if the period of incapacity expires before the end of the military qualification in 2026. Re-summoning this category of persons for military qualification and subjecting them to medical examinations will allow for a final decision to be issued on their inclusion in capacity categories A, D or E, with the resulting consequences;
• women born in the years 1999-2007 with qualifications useful for military service but who have not yet applied for military qualifications;
• women who are studying to obtain these qualifications and who are completing studies in fields or completing studies in professions that are useful in the military in the school or academic year 2025/2026.

- Next year's military qualification will also cover people who are over 18 years of age and volunteered for this qualification, as well as people with an unregulated military service relationship until the end of the calendar year in which they turn 60 - if they do not yet have a specific category of capability for active military service - the Ministry of National Defense informs.