MOSCOW. April 14 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law the bills simplifying the procedure for declaring soldiers and civilians as missing or killed in the zone of the special military operation.
The first bill establishes a special procedure for issuing a death certificate for a service member who died or was killed during draft military service, mobilization, martial law, or wartime, or while undergoing military training during martial law or in wartime.
In particular, the bill stipulates that a death certificate can be issued not only by a medical organization or an individual entrepreneur engaged in medical activities, but also by another authorized individual.
The document abolishes the clause stipulating that, for those who wish to submit an application for recognizing a service member or another citizen as missing or for declaring them dead, they have to indicate the date of the end of combat actions.
The other bill updates the application of the Russian Civil Code's clauses concerning the recognition of a citizen as missing, or the declaration by a court of a service member or another citizen missing in connection with combat actions as dead, which applies to citizens involved in the special military operation in Ukraine, the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), and the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, or in an armed provocation occurring in Russia's border areas adjacent to the special military operation zone.
This also concerns individuals mobilized for military service in the Russian Armed Forces, those performing their military duties under a contract with the Russian Armed Forces, those serving with the Russian National Guard or other military units, volunteers, and citizens living in the stated territories.
Deputy Speaker and Secretary of the United Russia party's General Council Andrei Turchak said earlier that, after the bill's enactment, a statement by a commander who witnessed a soldier's death would be enough to recognize this soldier as dead.
"If there are no immediate eyewitnesses to this but an individual is missing, recognizing them as missing would take no longer than half a year. After the person is recognized as missing, his family members would be entitled to go to the courts to initiate the procedure for recognizing this person as dead," Turchak wrote on Telegram.
The current legislation stipulates that the death of a missing service member can be confirmed after the expiration of two years from the end of combat actions.
The new regulations would apply to all such instances that have occurred after February 24, 2022, and to all service members, including mobilized ones, who have gone missing or have been killed in performing their military duty within the zone of the special military operation, or in the relevant border areas, Turchak said.
"It is not that easy to confirm a person's death during combat actions in a standard way, as the lengthy and cumbersome bureaucratic procedure can leave the families of the deceased soldiers without payments and other social support measures they are entitled to for a long time," Turchak said.
The bills will take effect one month after their official publication.