Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be following President Biden’s lead, offering to waive debt for military recruits who have been in the military for one year.
In November, Putin signed a law allowing anyone who joined the Russian military after Dec. 1, 2024, to cancel debts of up to 10 million rubles (about $96,000).
The AP reports that the law applies to debts where a court issues a collection order and enforcement proceedings are initiated before December 1, 2024.
The move appears to be similar to Biden’s own strategy, although the latter stopped short of linking loan disbursements to the military draft.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to the Moscow-appointed leader of the Russian-controlled Zaporozhye region of Ukraine, Yevgeny Balits, during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, November 18, 2024 Key’s speech. (Vyacheslav Prokofiev, Sputnik, Kremlin swimming pool photo via AP)
Earlier this month, the Biden administration announced $4.28 billion in student loan disbursements as Biden and Vice President Harris prepared to leave the White House.
The massive relief payment will provide loan forgiveness to 54,900 public employees, bringing the total loan forgiveness Biden has approved for nearly 5 million borrowers to nearly $180 billion.
The Biden-Harris administration claims the program is designed to create “incentives” for public servants to “pursue and maintain” their careers, forgiving borrowers’ remaining balances after they make 120 qualifying monthly payments.
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This photo taken on October 18, 2023 shows North Korean soldiers waving flags to welcome Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov after he arrived at Pyongyang Airport. (Photo by KIM WON JIN/AFP via Getty Images)
For Russia, however, the debt write-off measure is just another way in which Putin plans to strengthen the Russian military while continuing his war in Ukraine.
The Associated Press reported on Sunday that Western leaders said North Korea had sent about 10,000 troops to help Russia’s military campaign.
According to the Financial Times, Russia has also worked with the Houthi terrorist group to recruit hundreds of Yemeni men to fight in the war in Ukraine by luring them to Russia under false pretenses.
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A soldier of the 24th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces King Danilo fires a 2S5 “Hyacinth-S” self-propelled howitzer at Russian troops on the front line near the town of Chasivyar in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, November 2024 18th. (Oleg Petrasyuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danilo Independent Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/Handout from Reuters)
Yemeni recruits transferred to Russia through a “clandestine trafficking operation” were initially told they would be offered high-paying jobs and Russian citizenship.
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However, after arriving with the help of Houthi-linked companies, many were apparently coerced into joining the Russian army, forced to sign combat contracts at gunpoint and sent to the front lines in Ukraine.
Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.
