Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
13-04-2023
MOSCOW: Russia plans to introduce electronic military draft papers in an effort to make it harder for men to avoid being called up to fight in Ukraine.
The State Duma, the lower chamber of parliament, approved the necessary legislation in two separate votes at lightning speed on Tuesday with near unanimity.
Under the new proposals, summons will be sent electronically to a potential draftee’s personal account on the main government portal. They would be considered delivered as soon as delivered electronically.
Under the legislation, citizens who fail to show up at the military enlistment office will be automatically banned from travelling abroad and face a raft of other restrictions to complicate their lives inside Russia.
Andrey Kartapolov, chairman of the defence committee, said the new rules would apply not only to young conscripts but all men liable for military service.
“The draft notice is considered received from the moment it is posted in the personal account of a person liable for military service,” Kartapolov said in televised remarks.
The move is part of a wider push by Moscow to perfect a system it has used to bolster its military forces in Ukraine, though government officials say there are currently no plans to compel more men to fight there.
The new draft regime will close numerous loopholes exploited by draft dodgers and give Russia the organizational infrastructure to carry out a much more thorough and wider mobilization campaign if and when it decides to do so.
Some politicians complained the changes were rushed through without giving them enough time for scrutiny.
Nina Ostanina of the Communist Party said many lawmakers did not have time to study dozens of pages of the proposals. “We all bear responsibility for this bill,” she said in parliament. (Int’l News Desk)
