So far, Russia has called its seven-month invasion of Ukraine a “special military operation” and not a war. It conducted its offensive using contract soldiers and mercenaries, without formally deploying a conscript army or mobilizing the general population for war. The bill, which passed third reading in the lower house of the Duma on Tuesday, introduces changes to the criminal code that allow authorities to punish acts such as desertion if they are carried out during an ambiguous period of “war” or “mobilisation”. instead of following a clear declaration of war. Avoiding conscription and desertion during such a period will now attract a prison sentence of between five and ten years. Similar penalties are introduced for disobeying a commander’s orders, raiding and intentionally destroying military equipment. Some Russian politicians have said that these changes to the criminal code do not amount to mobilization itself. “The mobilization has not been announced,” the state-run Interfax news agency quoted one of the drafters of the bill as saying. But other politicians said the concept of a “mobilization period” had now been introduced into the legal system and could be seen as a signal that a full declaration of war and mass mobilization could be on the horizon. “The Duma has just considered and adopted in their final form several changes to the criminal code, at breakneck speed,” wrote senior lawyer Ivan Pavlov, who has previously defended opposition leader Alexei Navalny. “Most likely, there will be a big announcement soon. . .[and]we will be able to call the war a war,” he continued.
