Russia’s State Duma has passed a bill in its first reading that would allow conscripts to serve in military units of the Emergencies Ministry’s Federal Fire Service.
An explanatory note accompanying the bill says it would help reduce the service’s “existing staffing shortage.”
The service’s military units are currently deployed only in closed and federal territories and at high-priority and high-security facilities. The bill would expand their area of responsibility in light of the “global geopolitical situation” and “potential threats from unfriendly countries,” as well as to “protect citizens and economic assets,” including “in armed conflict zones.”
Parlamentskaya Gazeta reported that the bill would authorize these units to fight fires and conduct rescue operations in ordinary towns and villages and at civilian facilities.
However, the newspaper said the bill would bar conscripts serving in firefighting units from being sent to the “special military operation” zone or to regions where a counterterrorism operation regime is in effect.
Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov first spoke in February about plans to assign conscripts to serve as firefighters. The ministry hopes this will address problems caused by an “exodus of personnel” due to low pay.
The Interior Ministry and the Federal Penitentiary Service have also reported staffing shortages. iStories reported that these shortages have worsened during the Russia–Ukraine war. People who previously would have joined these agencies are now signing contracts with the Defense Ministry because fighting in the war pays more.
Ukraine strikes targets not only on the front lines and in nearby regions but across Russia. Drones attack oil facilities, warehouses, and data centers across Russia. The strikes often cause major fires.
More from Meduza
- The radios went silent How a deadly warehouse fire tore apart the Moscow firefighting community
- How men in one Russian region are being abducted and sent to war
At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.
If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.
To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.