Donetsk, Feb 23 — DAN. President Vladimir Putin has said that the status of combat veteran or combat invalid of Russia should be granted to former servicemen of the Donbass Republics who had ended their service before the reunification of their regions with Russia (September 30, 2022).
The initiative was brought forward by Hero of Russia, special military operation officer Roman Cheryomukhin. He said that the war veteran law did not apply to many veterans in Donbass who had completed their service for various reasons before the region had joined the Russian Federation.
“Of course, these are the people who fought, practically single-handedly, for the interests of their own kind, their Motherland and their land, ” TASS quoted Putin as saying. “Now they have become the citizens of Russia and we must include them — and we will — in the list of those entitled to support which will be provided.”
The president has underlined that the status which the servicemen had before the DPR, LPR and Zaporozhye and Kherson regions' accession to Russia was not as important as the fact that they “served Russia.”
“United Russia” political party’s General Council Secretary Andrey Turchak who heads the parliament’s coordination group for special operation issues said on Thursday that the lawbill on combat veteran status would be submitted to the State Duma (lower house of the Russian parliament) on February 27.
“We hope that it the house would pass it quickly so that the combat veterans in Donbass and members of their families can receive all the benefits they are entitled to along with other special military operation participants, ” Turchak said.
In 2022, the State Duma approved the law on the status of combat veteran and combat invalid for all participants in the special military operation in Donbas.*jk