Putin signed into law a debt waiver for new Russian recruits for the Ukraine war

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed a law on debt forgiveness for new army recruits who sign up to fight in Ukraine, a Russian government website showed.
The law provides a waiver of up to 10 million rubles ($95,835) in debt for those who sign an agreement with the Defense Ministry to fight in Ukraine for at least a year, starting Dec. 1, the agencies reported.
The law applies to all potential recruits against whom debt recovery proceedings have been initiated before December 1.
Russia has encouraged military recruitment by offering increasingly large payments to those willing to fight in Ukraine, in some cases many times the average salary.
The strategy has enabled the army to increase manpower in the conflict zone, while avoiding another round of general mobilization that prompted a mass exodus from Russia in September 2022.
Central bank figures show Russians have held rising levels of consumer debt since the Kremlin ordered thousands of troops to Ukraine in 2022, even as the central bank raised its key rate to 21% in October.