ISTANBUL 

Russia has enlisted more than 231,000 people in the country’s military in 2023, a senior government official said on Thursday.

“According to the Defense Ministry, from Jan. 1 to Aug. 3, … more than 231,000 people were accepted for contract service,” Dmitry Medvedev, who is a former president and now serves as deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, said during a meeting on issues related to military staffing.

Medvedev said that their task continued to be making contract service “as prestigious as possible.”

On Sept. 21 last year, President Vladimir Putin declared partial mobilization in Russia to enlist up to 300,000 people between the ages of 18 and 50 into the country’s military.