Chairman of the State Duma of Russia, Vyacheslav Volodinannounced an emergency session on Monday, calling on Russian lawmakers to hold an “extraordinary” meeting as soon as representatives go on vacation, raising alarm that the Russian parliament may be preparing was taken steps to escalate in war in Ukraine.
“The need for an extraordinary plenary meeting is due to the fact that problems have accumulated requiring urgent solutions,” Volodin said on Telegram. “Government initiatives will also be considered.”
The head of the United Russia party, Vladimir Vasilyev, also participated.
“It is essential that the ongoing processes now receive a legal response,” Vasilyev said on Telegram.
It is unclear what specific goals the emergency session will achieve, but Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warnings in recent days have underscored concerns about the emergency callback with an understatement. ominous sign. The emergency meeting came just days after Putin noted that he hasn’t even become serious yet about war, according to Reuters.
The news comes at a time when Russian forces appear to be working to better coordinate their offensive efforts in Ukraine. Russian forces captured Luhansk, a key region in the Donbas, last week, in large part due to a sudden shift in Russian strategy, according to a British intelligence assessment. This change could mark a new, more coordinated phase of the war for Moscow, lasting almost four months with some missteps in the rearview mirror.
The Russian parliament has taken a series of repressive measures in recent days that could put Russia in a position to better support its war efforts, which could prompt any move towards to more mobilization. The Duma passed two bills last week forcing Russian companies to support the war with goods and services, and that would allow companies to force their employees to work overtime.
“The load on the defense industry has increased significantly” Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said at the time. “To ensure the supply of weapons and ammunition, it is necessary to optimize the work of the military-industrial complex and the enterprises that are part of the cooperation chain.”
Some of the agenda for the extraordinary session include information and competition policy, according to Reuters. Volodin said they will discuss the economy and support military personnel.
Lawmakers will discuss more than 60 issues, but Vasilyev did not go into detail.
Volodin met with Putin last week and suggested that the Russian Parliament would help develop legal systems for the Donbas, or eastern parts of Ukraine that Russia recognized as independent earlier this year as soon as the forces Russia enters Ukraine.
Volodin himself has in recent days issued a number of threats that so far have seemed more embarrassing than tearing – just last week he warned that Russia could pursue the next Alaska to try trying to get it back, because the United States bought Alaska from Russia in 1867.
