The State Duma denied the creation of a working group to replenish the army

The head of the State Duma Committee on Defense, Andrei Kartapolov (United Russia), sent a letter to deputies in which he denied the creation of a working group on replenishing the Armed Forces, initiated by deputy Dmitry Kuznetsov (A Just Russia – For Truth). On November 11, at a meeting of the committee, Kuznetsov (an associate of the writer Zakhar Prilepin) proposed creating this working group under the committee, but the committee did not make a positive decision on this issue, Kartapolov reports in a letter dated October 24 (Vedomosti has read it).

This is the deputy’s personal initiative; he was asked to comprehensively study this issue, the head of the defense committee clarifies. At the same time, according to him, Kuznetsov initiated citizens’ appeals to deputies (more than 200 appeals a day) with a proposal to join the group and support the proposal to replace mobilized citizens with military pensioners, migrants, and law enforcement officers.

Kartapolov asked the deputies to take into account the information that this activity of Kuznetsov is in no way connected with the committee, “when making a decision on interaction on this issue with Kuznetsov and developing possible proposals for replenishing the Armed Forces before sending them to the Ministry of Defense.” Kuznetsov told Vedomosti that he had recently received requests from relatives of those mobilized regarding the length of their stay on the front line. They also write to him about difficulties with vacations, and, in his opinion, the solution to the problem lies in finding additional reserves to supplement the army.

He said that he did not order citizens’ appeals to deputies regarding this working group. According to the deputy, he did not hide from his constituents, including activists of public associations of relatives of those mobilized, that the issue of its creation was being worked out, and they could mention this in their appeals. The deputy does not comment on the committee’s refusal to create a working group, but says that he will continue to deal with the problems, even if the leader of his faction, Sergei Mironov, insists on his transfer to another committee.

On September 15, Kartapolov stated that those mobilized would be able to leave the combat zone after the end of the special operation. They are entitled to vacation for every six months of service, and they now go on these vacations, he said. The parliamentary working group on the special military operation said that they were working with complaints from relatives of the participants in the special operation. “[Обращения касаются] enrollment in educational institutions at the place of residence, assignment of a title, determination of disability and many other issues,” said Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Inna Svyatenko (see Vedomosti of October 11).