This means only one thing: the Russians are getting ready

This means only one thing: the Russians are getting ready

Experts estimate that this leads to only one conclusion, and that is that Moscow is preparing for a protracted war for the control of Ukraine.

The proposed new laws are intended to support the military and meet the "short-term increased need to repair weapons and military equipment," according to an explanation attached to the bills passing through the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament.

The measures are a response to the fact that Moscow's plan for a quick victory after its invasion of Ukraine failed, with the conflict becoming a war of attrition focused on the eastern Donbas region, and that sanctions are predicted to take a heavy toll on the Russian economy.

"Russia has been carrying out a special military operation for four months under the enormous pressure of sanctions," said Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov.

"The burden on the Russian defense-industrial complex has increased significantly," he added to the Duma on Tuesday during a debate on the draft law.

"In order to ensure the supply of weapons and ammunition, it is necessary to optimize the work of the defense-industrial complex and companies that work in cooperation with the defense industry," he said.

The first draft of the bill, which has already passed its second reading in the lower house of parliament, will allow the government to oblige companies to fulfill state defense contracts and give the defense ministry and other bodies the right to change the terms of contracts. This would allow authorities, for example, to force a factory to shift production toward military needs and to control how much of a particular product or service a business provides.

However, the measures are primarily aimed at companies that are already on the list of suppliers of the defense sector, said Borisov. "The laws do not provide for the mandatory conversion of civilian small and medium enterprises for the needs of the Armed Forces," he said.

Another bill would introduce changes to federal labor laws to give the government more control over the workforce. Authorities will be allowed to "establish the legal conditions of labor relations in individual organizations", including setting "conditions for engagement in work outside fixed working hours, at night, at weekends and on non-working holidays, and the provision of annual paid holidays".

This is intended to respond to the lack of experts in defense companies that fulfill state contracts, said Borisov. Employees who are forced to work overtime will be paid accordingly.

The laws must also pass through the upper house, after which they can be signed by President Vladimir Putin. The new measures are "especially" necessary because of the sanctions, it is pointed out in the explanation.