Russia grants privileges and tax exemptions to its soldiers in Ukraine

Peskov

The Russian authorities announced Friday that they had decided to exempt soldiers and state employees deployed in Ukraine from income tax, as part of their efforts to garner support for its military operation in its neighbor.

The new measure relates to all Russians fighting in the four Ukrainian regions that Russia announced its annexation, although it still did not fully control it, which are Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov referred to an exemption contained in an anti-corruption law, details of which were published by the Russian authorities on Thursday evening.

The decree stated that members of the army, police, security forces and other state employees who serve in the four regions will no longer have to provide information regarding their "income, expenses and assets".

The decree also gives them the right to receive "bonuses and gifts" if they are of a "humanitarian nature" and were received within the framework of the military operation in Ukraine.

The decree applies to their spouses and children and is retroactive to February 24, 2022, the day Russia launched its military operations in Ukraine.

The Kremlin launched a series of incentives for Russians to push them to fight in Ukraine, from financial incentives to banking and real estate-related facilities, while pledging to provide financial assistance to families in the event of the death or injury of their loved ones.

Soldiers and prominent officials close to the country's military-industrial complex are often convicted in corruption cases in which embezzlement of large sums is revealed.

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