Deputies of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, intend to introduce a legislative project that provides for the criminal liability of persons who evade military mobilization in the country, reports Meduza.

The information was first made public by journalists of the oldest daily newspaper in Russia, Izvestia, with reference to several sources in the Moscow parliament.

One of the initiators of the legislative project, Ernest Valeev, later confirmed this information to the state agency “Interfax”, also talking about the provisions of the law.

Valeyev, a member of President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party, says the proposals amend Russia’s Criminal Code to make evasion of mobilization punishable by a fine of between 200,000 and 500,000, hard labor or up to five years in prison .

Russians who evaded mobilization will be prosecuted if they received a conscription order

However, the deputy clarified that criminal responsibility will apply only to those who evaded the call for mobilization after receiving an official summons from the Military Commissariat.

Valeev noted that the bill closes a loophole in Russian legislation: the country’s Criminal Code now provides for criminal liability only for evasion of military service in Russia, not for mobilization.

The deputy also reported that this initiative does not affect the “partial mobilization” that began on September 21, “since it has been officially announced that the mobilization is over.”

But the Kremlin said on Tuesday that President Vladimir Putin would not sign a decree ending the mobilization because there was “no need”.

The partial mobilization decree in September triggered a true mass exodus from Russia, with hundreds of thousands of people, mostly men, fleeing to neighboring countries.

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