Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law amending the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation to specify harsher penalties for desertion, looting and surrender.
Source: Interfax news agency, with a link to the official legal information portal of the Russian Federation.
Details: In particular, the law introduces the concepts of "mobilisation", "martial law" and "wartime" to the Criminal Code.
One of the new ones is Article 352.1 ("Voluntary surrender").
A Russian soldier can face 3-10 years in prison for this, if there are no indications of treason.
At the same time, the law proposes to consider the commission of this crime "during a period of mobilisation, martial law or wartime" as aggravating circumstances (Article 63).
The penalty for unauthorised leave during a period of mobilisation and martial law (Article 337 of the Criminal Code) is more severe than in peacetime. »