It is a new legislative step in the concretization of the conflict for the population. The territories annexed by Russia have passed since midnight under martial law, but the real change is the establishment of two levels of reinforced security in Russia. Vladimir Poutine also decided to reinforce the monitoring of the logistics of the army.
from our correspondent in Moscow,
Three levels of security are now at work in Russia. Martial law, the highest level, is applied in the four annexed regions in September. A partly technical measure: Vladimir Putin, announcing it on Wednesday, recalled that these territories were already under this regime before their annexation. In short, according to the Russian president, this decree is part of a legislative adaptation linked to their integration into the Russian Federation. What changes completely, however, is the introduction of two new regimes. For the territories bordering Ukraine, such as Belgorod which is coming under increasing Ukrainian fire, but also in Crimea, it is ” average level for all regions of southern and central Russia, which also includes Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, this is the lowest level.
In these texts, there is what we know and what we do not know. As with the partial mobilization decree, these new provisions on martial law or enhanced security include parts that are not disclosed to the general public. And these parts for some are written on the basis of secret documents. In the arsenal of power today, there is therefore a whole range of unknown measures that can be put in place.
The figure of 300,000 men to be mobilized by the end of the month, for example, is in public speeches and that of the president, but its absence from the decree feeds the rumor machine in Russia about new waves of mobilization to come. It’s the same thing with the texts announced this Wednesday evening. Martial law involves, among other things, a curfew, restrictions on movement, detention for up to thirty days without cause, the internment of foreigners, possible compulsory resettlement in other regions. But it is also mentioned in the third point of the decree: “ Other measures during this period may be applied on the territory of the Russian Federation. A few hours after the publication, many specialized lawyers expressed this opinion: it is a formulation which makes it possible to introduce any time, any element of the martial law in a region or in all the country. Including, and this has been the major concern since February 24 in the population, the closing of borders. Immediate denial of the Kremlin by the voice of its spokesperson: the measure is not planned.
The question of military logistics
Vladimir Putin has also taken action on army supplies with the creation in the coming days of a special military coordination council whose objective is to ensure that soldiers do not need anything. The main objective is to verify the supply of weapons and equipment. All departments related to security in Russia will have their headquarters there, including internal and external intelligence and of course the army.
At the head of this committee, Vladimir Putin has appointed Prime Minister Mikhail Michoustin. For eight months, he has kept his distance from any debate and exchange on military issues, unlike his predecessor. When Dimitri Medvedev was completing his transformation into a “hawk”, the head of government was concentrating on the economy and the consequences of the sanctions.
During the famous Security Council, three days before the start of the conflict, where Vladimir Putin questioned the country’s leaders one by one on the need or not to recognize the pro-Russian separatist republics of Luhansk and Donetsk, Mikhail Michoustin was thus the one of the very few to have offered to continue diplomatic negotiations. This did not prevent him too from being sanctioned and now, once a week, it is he who will have to report to Vladimir Putin on the state of the so sensitive subject of army logistics.
►To read: Martial law and reinforced security: Russia on the way to a “war economy”?