According to the state-run TASS news agency, Russian soldiers who took part in a mobilisation drive for military operations in Ukraine would be able to get their sperm frozen in cryobanks for free.
Igor Trunov, president of the Russian Union of Lawyers, was cited by TASS as saying that the Health Ministry adopted the proposal in response to his request for financial support.
In accordance with Trunov’s comment, the ministry “evaluated the potential of financial support from the federal budget for free conservation and preservation of germ cells (spermatozoa) for residents mobilised to engage in the special military operation for 2022-2024.”
If their mandatory health insurance allows it, families may also utilise the stored biomaterial at no cost.
In a mobilisation effort that began in September, Russia called up more than 300,000 reservists to aid in what it refers to as its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
The effort led to the largest anti-Kremlin rallies since Russia launched troops into Ukraine in February and forced hundreds of thousands of Russian males to leave the country in order to avoid being recruited.
In its eleventh month, the conflict, which Ukraine and its Western backers see as an unprovoked invasion to seize territory, has entered a sluggish, grinding phase as the cold winter has arrived.
