Latvia Mulls Introducing Mandatory Military Service for Women

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Svetlana Ekimenko

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Latvia scrapped its decades-old military conscription policy in 2006 after joining NATO. However, amid the West’s proxy war in Ukraine and the concocted “Russia threat” narrative, there has been a massive ramping up of Europe’s defense spending, with Latvia also moving to beef up its military.

Latvia is considering introducing mandatory military service for women, the country’s defense minister has revealed.

Andris Spruds voiced his support for drafting women into national defense service sometime by 2028 in a post on X. The minister conceded, however, that there was “homework to be done: a public debate, the improvement of the infrastructure of the service, and the provision of materiel and equipment tailored specifically to women.”

Mandatory conscription for women “won’t happen today or tomorrow,” he reiterated in an interview on local television.

Readily embracing the US and NATO-driven «Russia threat» narrative, the Baltic nation, with a population of less than two million, has been beefing up its military. NATO’s proxy war against Russia in Ukraine made it even more eager to toe the hawkish Western stance, and reintroduce conscription last year. The National Defense Service Act was signed into law in April 2023. The Baltic country currently has 11-month-long mandatory military service for men aged 18 to 27. By 2028, the country aims to have 4,000 soldiers. When Latvia accepted its first conscripts in 2023, there was a heated debate about a call-up of both men and women. In the end, Latvia decided on mandatory conscription for men alone, although women aged 18 to 27 can apply voluntarily.

Earlier this year, Denmark announced plans to become the third country in Europe to introduce female conscription. Norway and Sweden did so in 2015 and in 2017, respectively.