As Russia launched its spring draft on Friday, targetting 18-year-old teenagers, some said they were ready to fight in Ukraine if needed, while others planned to evade call-up.

President Vladimir Putin vowed in early March that conscripts will not be sent to fight in the pro-Western country, where over 1,000 Russian troops have been killed.

But a Russian army spokesman later said conscripts had been mistakenly sent to Ukraine with some units. While most had returned to Russia, some have been taken prisoner, he said.

Semyon Petrov, an 18-year-old from the second largest city of Saint Petersburg, said the Russian army needed more soldiers now, adding he saw no way out of serving and planned to sign up soon.

"I don't want to take part in combat action, but if I have to, I will," he told AFP.

"Now there's such a situation that people are needed, we are retreating from close to Kyiv," the teenager said.

According to the law, conscripts cannot serve in combat situations.

But some reports suggested conscripts have come under pressure to switch to the professional recruitment track, allowing them to be sent into war zones.

The military has since vowed that conscripts will not be sent to fight in Ukraine, where it has said 1,351 troops have been killed and 3,825 wounded.

'I'd join now'

Some teenagers were gung-ho about the prospect of fighting in a conflict, at least theoretically.

"I'd join the army now, I want to serve and fulfil my duty to my country. The fact that military action is going on doesn't put me off, I'm ready to defend my country," said Nikolai Smirnov, 17, a schoolboy in Saint Petersburg.

"I'd go to war. For our guys!", said 18-year-old Muscovite Sergei Bozhenov, while adding that he will not do military service because he has a medical exemption.

The Russian military holds two annual draft sessions, in spring and autumn, when it recruits eligible men aged 18 to 27 to serve for a year. 

This time, Putin has set a recruitment goal of 134,500 men, slightly lower than the previous drive.

Some young Russians said they were keen to avoid the draft.

"I'm not going anywhere, I'll try to dodge it," said 18-year-old Saint Petersburg resident Yevgeny Ptitsyn.

Military service is nominally mandatory for men, but many opt out by entering higher education, getting exemptions on health grounds or simply evading the summons.

Conscripts make up about 30% of Russia's armed forces, the head of the lower house of parliament's defence committee said last year.

No hotspots for conscripts

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said this week conscripts will not be sent to any hotspots and those currently ending their military service would all be sent home.

This came after the army had to contradict a public statement by Putin over conscripts in Ukraine.

An unnamed US official said this week that declassified intelligence showed Putin had not known conscripts were serving in Ukraine.

Russian independent media and voluntary groups have reported that some conscripts have been sent to the front after signing a contract to join the professional army, sometimes under pressure.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated Friday that conscripts would not be sent to Ukraine.

"This cannot have anything to do with the military special operation in Ukraine," he said. "Conscripts are not being sent there".

Putin last month signed a decree allowing IT professionals not to do military service - after thousands working in the sector left the country.

Moscow IT worker Vasily Kravtsov, 18, said he had benefited from this.

"I'm really glad. I don't want to go to war," he said.