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Russian deputies voted on Tuesday, April 11, for a bill that would allow mobilization orders to be sent electronically. A measure that could facilitate enlistment in the Army in full offensive in Ukraine. This law comes at a time when the Russians are densifying their defense lines at the front, in anticipation of a Ukrainian counteroffensive announced for this spring.
In Russia, it will now be more difficult to escape military summons. At the same time, outside its borders, it will make it more difficult for those who have fled the country to evade enlistment. On Tuesday, the deputies of the Duma, the lower house of Parliament, unanimously approved a law that allows mobilization orders to be sent electronically.
According to the Lower House, from now on it will be possible to receive a mobilization order electronically, through the digital portal of Russian public services, in which millions of mobilizable Russians are registered.
“The changes provide for the digitization of the military registration system,” the Duma said in a statement.
More specifically, the Russian media reported that these orders will be sent through the Gosuslugi system, which is used by millions of citizens for a series of administrative procedures. Once the order is sent, the person who may be mobilized cannot leave the country and has a period of two weeks to appear once they have been notified of their obligation to serve the country militarily.
The text passed the second reading – the most important stage in the Russian legal system – and then also the third reading. Now, the approval of the Upper House of Parliament and the signature of Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to enter into force.
At the moment, the mobilization orders were delivered by hand to those mobilized. So many Russians of military age had chosen to ignore these summonses, move or flee the country. Something that tens of thousands of men did during the wave of mobilizations in September to fight in the Ukraine.
Strong penalties for those who refuse to enlist in the Army
“A citizen who can be mobilized will be considered a draft evader if he has refused to receive a summons or cannot be located,” the State Duma said in a statement. Russian law provides for harsh prison terms for those who evade military service.
Asked about the matter on Tuesday morning, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, assured that “there will not be a second wave” of mobilizations, after the partial one ordered last September by Putin to reinforce his regular army. Back then, hundreds of thousands of Russians were mobilized as reinforcements, others ignored their summons and tens of thousands preferred to flee the country.
In addition, Peskov assured that the technical change was “absolutely necessary” to “perfect and modernize” the national enlistment system.
According to Peskov, the Kremlin “does not expect” that this bill will cause a new wave of departures abroad of Russian men because “it is not related to mobilization.”
The bill approved by the Duma also foresees, according to the country’s media, sanctions that appear to be directed against Russians abroad. Those fleeing their citation will be prohibited from selling, transferring to family, or renting their homes. They will also not be able to sell their cars.
Russians who do not report to the military police station within 20 days of their mobilization will no longer be able to work as entrepreneurs or freelancers, receive loans, or register their homes and cars.
The Police will also have the right to search for and detain the recalcitrants, and tax authorities, universities and employers will have the obligation to transfer personal data to the authorities.
Russia prepares for a possible counteroffensive
The bill was introduced as the Russian military prepares for an expected counter-offensive that Ukraine and its Western allies say could begin in the coming weeks.
In fact, the Russians have been for months condensing the fortification lines at the front, but also in the Crimea. A sign, for Western countries, of Moscow’s nervousness about possible Ukrainian attacks.
Started in the summer, with the construction of the first lines of defense around Mariupol and Donetsk, the campaign to strengthen its lines has been expanded in recent months to try to prevent the Ukrainian advance.
AFP and AP
