Formation The Combat Army Reserves was created by the
Ministry of Defence in 2015 as an analogous organization to the
British Territorial Army or the
United States Army Reserve with members being paid a salary per a three-year or a one-and-a-half-year contract, and participating in at least a month per year of part-time training, with the prospect of being called to active duty in the event of war. When the war did break out, 20 BARS units consisting of an estimated 10,000 reservists, were sent to Ukraine to take part in the initial invasion. BARS reservists were, on paper, paid a much higher salary than Russian conscripts and were to supposed receive a hefty pension for their service, however, upon the completion of their service, most reservists saw little to none of the promised money or bonuses. Most BARS soldiers are older veterans of the
War in the Donbass, with many being members of the
Union of Donbass Volunteers, and are from smaller rural settlements. BARS units and Russian
PMCs often overlap, with several BARS units being directly affiliated or even run by a PMC, leaving the units in a legal grey-area. On 24 July 2023,
Vladimir Putin signed a law increasing the maximum age for all BARS members by five years. The legislation increased the official retirement age of privates, sergeants, and warrant officers from 35 to 40, officers of subaltern and field ranks from 45 to 50, and high-ranking officers from 50 to 55. During the
Ukrainian offensive into Kursk, three new BARS units where created, "BARS-Kursk", "BARS-Bryansk", and "BARS-Belgorod" which, according to governor of Kursk,
Alexei Smirnov, will coordinate with the Russian military "counterterrorism" operations. In November 2025 amendments to the law allowed BARS members to be called up also during peacetimes for "special training" to protect "critical and other life-support facilities", including against drone attacks. ==Cossack participation==