• Oleg Kolesnikov is a member of the State Duma Committee for the Protection of Competition.
• He says he has been in the military and is a major in the reserve.
• This comes after Putin called for “partial mobilisation” this week.

A lawmaker from Russia’s main ruling political party, United Russia, which backs President Vladimir Putin, has asked to be sent to fight in what Russia calls its war in Ukraine, a statement from the party’s press service said Saturday.

The statement says that Oleg Kolesnikov, a member of the State Duma Committee for the Protection of Competition, said that he has been in the military and is a major in the reserve.

“I was in the Soviet army and served in Poland. I was in charge of an artillery gun that could move on its own. I graduated as a Foreman and am now a Major in the reserve. And I have to do what I should,” he said.

United Russia said that they also got applications from Dmitry Khubezov, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Health Protection, Dmitry Sablin, deputy chairman of the Defense Committee, Vitaly Milonov, deputy chairman of the Committee on Family, Women, and Children, and Sergei Sokol, secretary of the Khakass Regional Branch of United Russia and deputy chairman of the Committee on Economic Policy.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation will look at the applications, the party said.

“Several regional and municipal deputies of United Russia are going to join the special military operation, many of them decided to volunteer,” the statement said.

This comes after Putin called for “partial mobilisation” this week to support the war in Ukraine, which sparked protests in cities across Russia. A group that keeps track of things says that some protesters who were arrested were sent right into the military.

Experts say that Russia’s forces are much smaller than they used to be. Sergei Shoigu, who is in charge of defence, said that 300,000 reservists would be called up because of the announcement.

As an early sign of how seriously Moscow is stepping up its efforts, the Human Rights Council of Russia has proposed that immigrants from central Asian countries who have been Russian citizens for less than 10 years will have to do a year of military service in Russia.

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