Russian mobilized soldiers train in the Kostroma region of Russia, on November 25, 2022. Faced with mounting casualties and scant resources for replacement forces, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in September that he would partially mobilize about 300,000 reservists for the war in Ukraine. (Russian Ministry of Defense)
Russian troops mobilized to fight in Ukraine may be eligible for free infertility treatment and cryopreservation of sperm, according to a report from Russia this week.
A Russian lawyer lobbied the government to offer the benefits to men drafted to fight in Ukraine, the state-run Tass news agency reported on Wednesday.
Igor Tronov, head of the Russian Bar Association, said in the report that he had recently been informed that the Russian Ministry of Health had approved his request for federal funding to store sperm for those mobilized between 2022 and 2024.
Tas did not make any comments from the Ministry of Health in his report.
The U.S. military considered similar plans in 2016, when then-Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced a pilot program for any military that wanted the process, regardless of deployment. However, the plan faced Senate opposition and was not brought up again, Military.com reported in June.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, second from left, inspects mobilized forces near Moscow in an undated Oct. 1, 2022, photo from the Russian Defense Ministry. (Vadim Savitsky/Russian Ministry of Defense)
Faced with mounting casualties and few options to replace troops, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in September a “partial mobilization” of about 300,000 reservists for the war in Ukraine.
The announcement was met with widespread protests, and some Russian men fled the country, fearing that civilians would be caught in conscription and sent to Ukraine.
NPR reported on October 28 that in late October, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the mobilization goal had been met and that no further drafts were planned.
The Moscow Times reported on December 16, citing data from the BBC Russian Service and independent Russian media outlet Mediazuna, that more than 10,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the Kremlin’s massive invasion of Ukraine began in February.
Some Western estimates put the number of Russian soldiers killed at 100,000, the report said.
Shoigu said in September that 5,937 soldiers had been killed in Ukraine, according to a Sept. 21 report by Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency.
According to Tass, Tronov said his group plans to apply for the benefits on behalf of several couples whose husbands have been called up to fight in Ukraine.