"The Impact of COVID-19 on the Russian Armed Forces" Topic

"Russia has been invaded once again. But this time, the intruder is the novel coronavirus responsible for the global COVID-19 pandemic, which has already resulted in the deaths of 361 Russians, as of April 19 (StopKoronavirus.rf, April 19). As in past invasions, the country's Armed Forces are playing an important role in combatting the outbreak. The military has already taken a number of measures to cope with the crisis (see EDM, April 15) and plans to support civilian society if the need arises. "All the capabilities" of the Russian military "can and should be used" for this purpose, Russian President Vladimir Putin told government ministers on April 13 (Kremlin.ru, April 13). Indeed, streets in select Russian towns are already being disinfected by troops, and medical personnel from the Armed Forces are working in hospitals in the Moscow area (Function.mil.ru, April 19; Izvestia, April 17).

Entirely avoiding the spread of the coronavirus among military personnel will undoubtedly be nearly impossible, despite recent claims that strict leave rules and discipline will maintain soldiers' health (Voinskaya-chast.ru, April 13). Therefore, the pandemic can be expected to have some level of negative impact on military capabilities, readiness, and the delivery of new equipment. This will be exacerbated by the actual number of infected and deceased personnel, the postponement of the spring draft, and the delayed Victory Day parade, which was supposed to take place on May 9…"
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