The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation proposes to consider the refusal to provide rest to soldiers as a gross disciplinary offense

The Russian Ministry of Defense has prepared a bill that proposes to expand the list of reasons for imposing disciplinary sanctions against command personnel. In particular, the military department plans to toughen the punishment of commanders for not providing rest to soldiers and issuing an order “without defining measures for the logistics of its implementation,” reports Vedomosti.

According to the publication, the draft prepared by the Ministry of Defense amends the law “On the status of military personnel.” The document also proposes to classify as gross disciplinary offenses “failure by the commander (chief) within his competence to take the necessary measures to respect the rights and freedoms of military personnel established by legislative and other regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation.”

In addition, the Ministry of Defense wants to add disobedience to a military police officer, obstructing his work, restricting the movement of soldiers during off-duty hours and insufficient maintenance of military equipment in good condition to the list of gross misconduct for commanders.

According to the current legislation, the list of gross disciplinary offenses includes, in particular, violation of the statutory rules of relations, evasion of military service duties, violation of the rules for handling weapons. Disciplinary sanctions for misconduct range from a reprimand to administrative arrest.

In February 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered to establish a vacation for the military in the conflict zone in Ukraine lasting from two weeks at least once every six months. Vacation days do not include travel time from duty station to home.

Erdni Kagaltynov