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Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a bill amending Russia’s criminal code to impose 10 years in prison for military personnel who voluntarily surrender to Ukrainian forces.
“It’s a classic Putin playbook. He’s a master of checkmate,” said the former DIA agent and author of “Putin’s Playbook: Russia’s Secret Plan to Defeat America.” One Rebekah Koffler told Fox News Digital. “Die on the battlefield or rot in prison, the decision facing Russians today is impossible.”
Putin’s move comes after announcing partial mobilization in Russia last week, introducing conscription into a conflict that has been going on for seven months, and rarely following Moscow’s script. Those who have now served in the military face severe penalties if they choose to abandon fighting in Ukraine.
Putin begins conscription to step up military aggression as Ukraine launches counterattack
First-time offenders in the Russian military can escape captivity and return to their units, exempt from prison sentences.
However, Koffler does not believe the move will solve the problems Russia experienced on the battlefield, which increased after the successful Ukrainian counteroffensive in September.
“Not only does this move currently not solve the problem of Russia’s declining combat power in Ukraine, partial mobilization will not bring tangible results for a few months, but in the long term Russia and its armed forces will will have a serious negative impact on the population,” she said.
In addition to amending the penal code, Putin has extended the draft deferment of studies for university and vocational school students, but only students entering secondary education for the first time are eligible for the deferment.
Russian forces blocked by Ukrainian forces and Dnieper river, barge carrying supplies to Russian forces sinks
The order exempting partial mobilization applies retroactively to September 21, when President Putin signed the mobilization.
But many young Russian men will still be subject to national conscription, a move that could have dire consequences as the country battles a “demographic crisis,” Koffler said. Russia’s current fertility rate of 1.5 is well below the population replacement rate of 2.1 at which the country can sustain its population level, Koffler noted.
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“Eliminating the entire segment of reproductive-age men between the ages of 18 and 55 is a disastrous strategic move,” she argued. A tragedy for the Russian people.”