- Paul Kirby
- BBC news
Putin announced the partial mobilization of some 300,000 troops last September
The head of the Bar Federation of Russia, Igor Trunov, said that soldiers participating in the war in Ukraine will be able to freeze their sperm for free.
Trunov told the state news agency Tass that the Ministry of Health has responded to his call to provide the service free of charge, in addition to his proposed changes in the compulsory health insurance system.
Russia has called up some 300,000 reservists after a series of setbacks to its forces in Ukraine.
Reports have indicated that since the call of this large number of soldiers, specialized medical clinics have witnessed a request by the men to have their sperm frozen.
Trunov announced, via his Twitter social network account, that the Russian Bar Association has filed a request on behalf of many families whose husbands have been summoned to participate in the special military operation, which is the name Russia gives to war in Ukraine .
Russia’s Health Ministry did not comment on Trunov’s statements, but the head of the Union of Lawyers told TASS that the ministry “confirmed that there is the possibility of allocating financial support from the federal budget for free conservation and storage of sperm of citizens participating in the special military operation in the period from 2022 to 2024.”
The Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 28, sending 200,000 troops. Since then, Russia has lost tens of thousands of soldiers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a “partial mobilization” amid continued high casualties as some 250,000 men have fled Russia to avoid conscription and take part in the war in Ukraine.
Just days after this expanded recall, Fontanka monitored a surge in demand for IVF and fertility clinics in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, to freeze sperm and for men to sign authorization for wives to use it.
Andrei Ivanov, of the city’s Mariinsky hospital, said men who had a shift for conscription were at the top of the line for sperm freezing, followed by those planning to leave Russia.
This is intended to help obtain a child if the man dies or loses the ability to have children.
