Vladimir Putin signed several bills into law:
Andrey Kartapolov, Chairman of the Defense Committee of the State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly], said that the bill permitting stateless individuals to enlist in the Armed Forces targets people from Ukraine’s occupied territories who have lost their Ukrainian citizenship, and residents of European countries who move to Russia and allegedly "face citizenship revocation."
Military personnel who served in areas along the Russia-Ukraine border inside Russia would be granted combat veteran status if a bill approved by the Federation Council [upper house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] would be signed into law. The measure applies to troops, including conscripts, engaged in what the legislation describes as "protecting Russia’s frontier and countering armed provocations." The status would be granted retroactively for service performed since Feb. 24, 2022, and would also entitle personnel wounded during such missions to disabled war veteran status. The Cabinet would set the final list of territories.
Russian authorities may classify the work of OSINT analysts during the war against Ukraine as treason, Vasily Piskaryov warns. A member of the State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly], he chairs its security committee and the commission on foreign interference. According to him, NATO officials are interested in information on the actions of Russian soldiers "in the course of the special military operation" and on schemes to bypass sanctions imposed on the country. Piskaryov claims that these foreign officials use the services of "Russian expatriates who gather intelligence from open sources (OSINT)," adding that Russian investigators may prosecute such cooperation under the Criminal Code’s article on high treason.
Seeking to criminalize the desecration of military graves and memorials, the Russian government has introduced a bill to the State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly] that would amend the title and opening clause of the article on "the destruction or damage of military burial sites, monuments, steles, obelisks and other memorial structures honoring those who died defending the homeland or its interests," by explicitly adding the term "desecration." The amended article sets a maximum sentence of five years in prison. In the explanatory note, the bill’s authors claim that authorities have documented more than 370 "high-profile incidents of desecration" involving military graves and memorials since February 2022. The Sever.Realii...
Female inmates at Penal Colony No. 11 have been applying en masse to join the war effort, the Lyudi Baikala [People of Baikal] independent media outlet reported, citing sources familiar with the situation in the penal colony located in Bozoy, Irkutsk region. Authorities turned away about a third of the more than 60 volunteers, either due to health issues or because they had minor children. The rest completed a one-month military training program, which included basic nursing skills, and left for the front in December 2024.
Relatives of wounded participants in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have acquired the right to take up to 35 days of additional unpaid leave after Vladimir Putin signed a corresponding bill into law. Moreover, close relatives may take up to 14 days of unpaid leave in the event of a service member’s death.
Lawmakers moved to exclude the retroactive application of a bill giving military authorities a year to call up an individual from the moment a decision to conscript them is taken. Members of the State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] introduced an amendment ahead of the bill’s second reading so draft offices would not carry out fall 2024 decisions in 2025. Another amendment would exempt two groups from regular conscription: citizens who have served at least six months in volunteer units recognized under the Law on Defense, and those who served in the armed formations of the so-called "DPR" and "LPR" beginning May 11, 2014. The State Duma plans to consider the bill on April 8.
"Foreign agents" would face dismissal from military service under a draft decree from Putin, the Parliamentary Gazette states. If the amendments to the "Regulation on the Procedure for Military Service" take effect, service members labeled as foreign agents would not only lose their positions but also forfeit the right to wear military uniforms and insignia. The decree would apply the same penalty to military personnel found guilty of alcohol abuse, drug use, intentional crimes or misusing their official positions to serve political parties, as well as to those dismissed for "loss of trust" or expelled from military academies. The amendments would also change the mechanism for discharging troops. Legal experts interviewed by the...
The State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] passed a law allowing parents, spouses and children of service members who are undergoing treatment or rehabilitation to request up to 35 days of additional unpaid leave. In the event of a service member’s death, parents, widows and children may take up to 14 days of unpaid leave.