Russia says it will suspend draft for some men in financial, technology sectors

The Kremlin this week said it would partly tailor its recently announced draft of fighting-aged men to exclude certain workers in industries such as banking and technology, a move presumably meant to address business concerns over the conscription of male workers. 

Certain employees in financial and I.T. sectors will not have to face the draft, with telecommunications employees also reportedly receiving a reprieve, the Russian government said Friday. 

The Russian Ministry of Defense's decision is purportedly in response to widespread concerns expressed earlier this week that the Kremlin's draft might hamper business industries around the country.

The Russian government has called up about 300,000 men into service, with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stating that only those with past military experience would be subject to the conscription. 

The draft is meant to help bolster the country's fighting forces as the Russian Armed Forces struggles to maintain a foothold in the Ukraine, which it invaded in February of this year as part of Russian President Vladimir Putin's ambitions to consolidate territory lost to Russia with the dissolution of the USSR in late 1991.