Proposed Russian law would allow people over 40 to enlist in its military

May 20 (UPI) -- A proposed new Russian law doing away with soldier age restrictions suggests the country is struggling to sustain military troop requirements for its war on Ukraine.

Two members of the United Russia Party introduced the proposed law. Andrey Kartapolov, head of the Russian state Duma, co-authored the bill with his deputy Andrey Krasov to allow people over 40 to join the military.

Russians aged 18-40 and foreigners aged 18-30 can sign up for military contracts now.

Russians older than 40 would be able to sign up for first military contracts under the proposed law, according to a statement from the Russian lower house of parliament.

A British Defense Ministry assessment of Russian military losses in Ukraine tweeted Sunday said "Russia has now likely suffered losses of one-third of the ground combat force it committed in February."

The assessment said Russia's Donbas offensive has "lost momentum" and fallen "significantly behind schedule."

"The Russian forces are increasingly constrained by degraded enabling capabilities, continuing low morale and reduced combat effectiveness," the British assessment said.

Because of these losses, the British Defense Ministry assesses that "Under the current conditions, Russia is unlikely to dramatically accelerate its rate of advance over the next 30 days."