Russia to soon introduce electronic call-up papers in crackdown on draft dodgers

MOSCOW, April 11 (Reuters) - Russia is poised to introduce electronic military draft papers for the first time in its history in an effort to make it harder for men to avoid being drafted after the lower house of parliament gave its backing to the legislation on Tuesday.

The move is part of a wider push by Moscow to perfect a system it has used to bolster its military forces in Ukraine, though government officials say there are currently no plans to compel more men to fight in Ukraine where Moscow has suffered tens of thousands of casualties according to Western officials.

The new draft regime will close numerous loopholes exploited by draft dodgers and give Russia the organisational infrastructure to carry out a much more thorough and wider mobilisation campaign if and when it decides to do so.