"Raising the age limit for reservists is not currently on the table," Defense Resources Agency (KRA) spokesperson Ranno Kokk told ERR on Thursday, confirming that the defense obligation applies to male Estonian citizens up to and including 60 years old.

"However, everyone has the option after turning 60 to continue contributing to the reserves by submitting an application to the KRA to take on the defense obligation," Rokk continued. "In such cases, the defense obligation remains in effect until reaching retirement age."

Finnish public broadcaster Yle reported Wednesday that Finland wants to increase its number of reservists, which the government plans to achieve by raising the age limit for the Finnish Defense Forces (FDF) to 65.

Currently, officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) remain in the FDF's reserves through the age of 60, while junior enlisted reservists are capped at 50.

The proposed age hike would expand the Finnish Defense Forces' reserves by 125,000 people, with projections showing that Finland's reserves could reach about 1 million by 2031.

The reserves of the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) consist of men aged 18-60 or persons liable to the national defense obligation who are not conscripts or currently serving in either the EDF or alternative service.

A member of the EDF reserves acquires the status of reservist while engaged in reserve service, such as when participating in training or additional reservist training.

The wartime structure of the Estonian Defense Forces consists of more than 43,000 positions in total, of which 4,200 are staffed by active-duty EDF and Estonian Defense League (EDL) servicemembers, and 38,000 by reservists and EDL members who have taken on a defense obligation.

A supplementary reserve of 4,000 members has also been established to strengthen operational structures.

Additionally, there are nearly 40,000 reservists in Estonia who have completed military training but for various reasons have not been assigned specific wartime positions.

In total, nearly 230,000 people with defense obligations are currently registered in Estonia's mobilization register, accounting for about 20 percent of the country's population.

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