Russian President Vladimir Putin can order the Defense Ministry from today to create volunteer battalions equal to those fighting in Ukraine, according to a new law approved by the State Duma (layer of deputies).
Any Russian citizen can join these voluntary units after signing a contract to that effect, reads the new law proposed by State Duma President Viacheslav Volodin and representatives of the Putin-supporting United Russia party.
The law stipulates that volunteers will carry out the tasks entrusted to them by the armed forces in times of war or state of siege, during the mobilization process, in the event of a military conflict, counter-terror operation or sending troops abroad.
In addition, it establishes the condition of volunteer, the admission and exclusion requirements in the battalions and the compensation and social coverage conditions.
“Volunteers will be equated with professional soldiers because of their status. It is fair, they too defend our country”explained Volodin.
It is up to the Department of Defense to determine who should determine the mission, deadline and place of execution, as well as the composition and number of members of each unit.
The clauses in the new law will retroactively affect volunteers who have participated in the “special military operation” in Ukraine since February 24.
“The bill is extremely important and timely. Today, a large number of men are voluntarily participating in the special military operation. They are true patriots and deserve our full support.”defended Andrei Kartapolov, head of the Duma’s defense committee.
Faced with the acute shortage of men in the ranks of the Russian army fighting in Ukraine, almost all regions will form volunteer units on the orders of the Kremlin, according to the independent Russian press.
However, the participation of volunteers, writes the Spanish news agency EFE, “little influence on the situation on site”as has happened so far with the mobilization of 300,000 reservists on behalf of Putin.
Both volunteers and mobilized people complain about the lack of equipment, the lack of military training and the poor living conditions.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on Feb. 24 has already led to more than 13 million people fleeing — more than six million internally displaced persons and more than 7.7 million to European countries — according to the latest data from the UN, which ranks this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for the security of the country – was condemned by the generality of the international community, which responded by sending arms to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions. to impose. Russia.
The UN presented as confirmed 6,374 civilian dead and 9,776 wounded since the start of the war, underlining that these numbers are far below the actual number.
Source: DN
