Russian regions will start creating martial law headquarters
13 December 05:17
The Russian Defense Ministry has proposed to create defense headquarters in regions where the authorities declare martial law. A draft of the relevant federal law has appeared on the portal of legal acts, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports, citing Russian propaganda media.
According to the explanatory note, the initiative was developed “taking into account the experience of the defense headquarters of the ‘Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics’, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.”
In particular, from October 2022 to August 2023, there were two coordinating bodies in the occupied territories of Ukraine: operational headquarters and territorial defense headquarters. They were responsible for mobilization activities in the economy, government, and local self-government, as well as managing civil defense, protection of the population, and meeting the needs of the Russian armed forces. However, the headquarters duplicated each other in terms of functions and members. in 2023, they were merged into a single interagency body, the Defense Staff. Now the Ministry of Defense intends to transfer this format to other regions, enshrining it in the federal law “On Defense.”
It is expected that the headquarters will develop the necessary laws during martial law, organize territorial defense, and collect and analyze situational data. In addition, they will be tasked with preparing proposals for decision-making by the leadership. Among the main tasks of the headquarters will be the application of martial law measures and the implementation of terrorist defense measures.
Martial law in Russia is understood to mean a special legal regime imposed on the country or its individual regions by the president. The reason for this may be external aggression or an immediate threat of such aggression. Martial law implies restrictions on the rights and freedoms of citizens and procurement organizations “to the extent necessary to ensure the defense and security of the state”.
In 2022, after the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin imposed martial law in these regions. The “medium level of response” was also declared in the border regions of Bryansk, Kursk, Belgorod, Voronezh, and Rostov oblasts, Krasnodar Krai, occupied Crimea, and Sevastopol.
