A bill introduced in the State Duma would send conscripts to serve in military units of Russia’s Federal Fire Service, part of the Emergency Situations Ministry, the Russian business daily Vedomosti reported.
The explanatory note accompanying the bill says the measure would help address the “existing personnel shortage” in the Federal Fire Service.
The bill would also expand the authority of those military units to cover populated areas and organizations. Currently, they are permitted to operate only on closed and federal territories and at particularly important and restricted facilities.
The explanatory note says the expansion is needed to protect citizens and economic assets, including in conflict zones, given “the current geopolitical situation in the world and potential threats from unfriendly countries.”
State Duma deputy speakers Victoria Abramchenko and Pyotr Tolstoy introduced the bill to the lower house on April 22, along with deputy chairs of the security and anti-corruption committee Anatoly Vyborny and Ernest Valeev. The bill has not yet passed its first reading, but according to Vedomosti’s sources, the government has backed it “subject to further revision.”
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