Russian President Vladimir Putin today signed several amendments to the country’s criminal code, which have tightened wartime sentences for several crimes.
Under the amendments, published on the government’s legal portal on Saturday, crimes such as refusing to obey the orders of a senior officer in wartime, armed conflict or combat operations – or refusing to participate in military or combat operations at such times – lead to prison terms of up to 10 years.
“Federal law also introduces criminal liability for military personnel for voluntary surrender, as well as criminal liability for looting during martial law, in time of war, or in circumstances of armed conflict or combat operations,” a Kremlin statement said on the changes.
The sentence for those sentenced to prison for committing particularly serious crimes can now be replaced by hard labor or another milder sentence, after at least two-thirds of the prison sentence has been served, the Kremlin statement said.
The Russian president also signed a law that would punish the violation of the terms of a state contract in the field of state defense, especially if such violation would cause damage to the state in the amount of at least 5% of the contract price and at least 5 million rubles (about $86,000), as well as non-compliance with the contract.
Exemption from punishment is possible “if violations are voluntarily eliminated,” the Kremlin statement says.
some context: In the wake of Ukraine’s successful counter-offensive this month, Putin and the Russian authorities have taken a series of steps to bolster the country’s military and quell domestic disputes.
About 300,000 reservists have been called up for military service in what Putin calls a “partial mobilization.”
Nearly 1,500 anti-war protesters have been detained in cities across Russia since the announcement, some of whom have been conscripted directly into the military, according to a monitoring group. The penalty in Russia for refusing military service is now 15 years in prison.