Russia Grants 35-Day Unpaid Leave to Veterans Deployed in Afghanistan, Syria, and Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law allowing certain veterans deployed to Ukraine, Syria, and Afghanistan to receive up to 35 days of unpaid leave annually. This benefit applies to those who served more than six months in mission areas but were not directly involved in combat operations.

According to a report by the Russian newspaper Kommersant published on Saturday, February 20, veterans who were deployed to Afghanistan between December 1979 and December 1989 are also covered by this law. This period corresponds to the Soviet Union’s military presence in Afghanistan.

Additionally, individuals deployed to Syria since September 2015, to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions since February 2022, as well as those assigned to Zaporizhzhia and Kherson since September 2022, are eligible to benefit from this leave.

Previously, only those who had directly participated in combat operations were entitled to 35 days of unpaid leave per year. The new law expands this entitlement to a broader group.

Yaroslav Nilov, Chairman of Russia’s Committee on Labor, Social Policy, and Veterans’ Affairs, stated that this change mainly includes construction workers, municipal services employees, and emergency sector staff who have operated in mission areas but were not on the frontlines of the war.