Russian troops that are part of the mobilisation drive in Ukraine will now be entitled to get their sperm frozen for free in cryobanks, according to the Russian Union of Lawyers.
Igor Trunov, the president of the union told the state agency TASS that the health ministry responded to his appeal for budgetary assistance with the plan.
Trunov said the ministry determined the possibility of financial support from the federal budget for free conservation and storage of germ cells (spermatozoa) for citizens mobilised to participate in the special military operation (in Ukraine) for 2022-2024.
Families can use the stored biomaterial free of charge if their compulsory medical insurance indicates they can do so.
The health ministry has not yet commented on Trunov’s remarks, a report by the BBC on Wednesday said. Russia in September had announced a partial mobilisation. Over 250,000 men fled Russia to avoid the draft.
The report said that within days of the call-up, the Fontanka website in St Petersburg reported a rise in men going to IVF and fertility clinics to have their sperm frozen and draw up documents entitling their wives to use it.
The website added that both men and women in Russia rarely approached these clinics if something went wrong and never considered freezing their biomaterial before.
