Russian Defense Ministry proceeds with semiannual national draft despite coronavirus pandemic
Source: Interfax
Russia’s Defense Ministry has refused to delay its spring draft amid the global pandemic of COVID-19. The draft, which applies to all young men who do not meet certain conditions such as university study, will begin as usual on April 1 and last until July 15, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said.
All new spring recruits will be quarantined for two weeks and tested for the coronavirus as soon as they arrive at their bases. Shoigu said most will be sent onward to the army in May or June.
He added that the Defense Ministry’s leadership and the military’s General Staff have all undergone diagnostic testing for the virus. None of them received a positive result.
Meanwhile, 32 military hospitals have outfitted divisions for coronavirus patients
Russia vs. the virus
- ‘Russia's Chances Against Coronavirus’: Sizing up the country's healthcare capacity and social readiness for a pandemic
- Russia confirms 54 new coronavirus cases, bringing total number of known infections to 253
- Prime Minister Mishustin says six COVID-19 vaccines are being developed in Russia
- Here’s the core of the Russian executive cabinet’s new COVID-19 economic crisis plan, point by point