A draft was submitted to the State Duma on granting priests the status of a combat veteran

A bill has been submitted to the State Duma (State Duma), which provides for the assignment of the status of a combat veteran to clergymen working in the area of the special operation to protect Donbass. The document was registered on April 7 in the electronic database of the State Duma.

"The draft <...> has been prepared in order to improve the legal regulation of relations in the field of social support for veterans in terms of clarifying the categories of persons classified as combat veterans and combat invalids," the explanatory note to the bill says.

According to the document, the status of a combat veteran is proposed to be assigned to clergymen from centralized religious organizations who, during the special operation, performed divine services, other religious rituals and ceremonies with the participation of military personnel for at least four months.

It is specified that if the law is adopted, it will apply to legal relations that have arisen since February 24, 2022.

On April 3, the State Duma adopted in the second and third readings the law on extending the status of combat veterans to military personnel performing combat missions in the Kursk region. The adoption of the amendments will increase the level of social protection for the military and law enforcement personnel.

Later, on April 4, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added that the law took into account all the nuances related to the situation around the Kursk region. According to him, this applies to many people who heroically serve and fight for the liberation of Russian territories.