In a move that reflects the tightening of its policy on the conflict in Ukraine, the lower house of the Russian parliament passed a law on Tuesday allows you to recruit the army by email and also forbids the departure of men who have been ordered to mobilize.

Deputies of the Duma, the lower house of Parliament, unanimously approved the bill in the second reading and then in the third reading. “Changes provide for the digitization of the military registration system”the Duma said in a statement.

The initiative, which must be approved by the House of Senators, requires summoned recruits to receive notification electronically through the Public Services portal, rather than in person, as had been the case up until now, AFP news agencies reported. and Sputnik.

One week after issuance, the order is deemed delivered, so the recruit must present himself in front of an enlistment office and You will not be able to leave the country until you complete this procedurewhich can also be done electronically.

harsh penalties

“A mobilizable citizen will be considered refractory if he has refused to receive his summons or if he cannot be located,” the Duma said in its statement. Russian law provides for harsh prison sentences for those who evade the military.

After a period of 20 days without notification, your driving record will be temporarily limited, as well as the ability to buy or sell real estate, open a company or apply for a mortgage.

Until now, draft orders had to be delivered in person, and many Russians have managed to evade the draft by refusing to withdraw their orders and fleeing abroad.

“Recruitment notice it is considered received from the moment it is posted in the personal account of a person subject to military service,” the chairman of the defense committee of the lower house, Andrei Kartapolov, said before the vote.

He added that the new rules would apply not only to young recruits but to all men eligible for military service.

There will be no second mobilization

On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said that “there will be no second wave” of demonstrations, after the “partial” ordered in September 2022 by Vladimir Putin to strengthen his regular army.

Peskov considered this technical change “absolutely necessary” to “refine and modernize” the national recruitment system, and assured that he “didn’t expect” that this new bill would cause a new wave of departures abroad, because “it is not related to mobilisation”.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, hundreds of thousands of men have been recalled and tens of thousands have fled the country. The changes to the legislation it will make avoiding conscription much more difficult.

Military service is compulsory in Russia for men between the ages of 18 and 27, and the call up is done twice a year.

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