MOSCOW: Russia’s parliament on Tuesday approved a bill to toughen punishments for a host of crimes such as desertion, damage to military property and insubordination if they are committed during military mobilisation or combat situations. The bill, passed in its second and third readings on Tuesday by the lower house of parliament, the Duma, comes amid debate inside Russia about a possible mobilisation, a step which could significantly escalate the conflict in Ukraine. “Until today, the Russian criminal code did not have the concepts of ‘mobilisation’ or ‘combat operations’,” Pavel Chikov, head of the Agora law firm, which has represented … Continue reading Russian soldiers to get 10 years imprisonment on surrender, New bill passed by parliament