Russia’s State Duma has approved state-funded fertility treatment for women whose husbands were killed in the war against Ukraine or later died of their wounds. The legislation was adopted on Thursday, July 23, and is expected to take effect on Dec. 1, The Moscow Times reported.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.Eligible widows will be able to receive assisted reproductive treatments, including in vitro fertilization and artificial insemination. Surrogacy, however, is excluded from the program.Eligibility limited to unmarried widowsWidows may access the benefit for five years following the death of a spouse recognized as a veteran of Russia’s war against Ukraine. If they remarry, they lose eligibility for the program.Applicants reportedly must present notarized consent signed by their husbands before their deaths. The procedures will be covered under Russia’s state-guaranteed program for free medical care. The Russian Health Ministry is yet to establish the detailed application and treatment rules.Other benefits for war widowsPreviously, Russian authorities allowed the spouses of service members killed in the war to enter state-funded university programs without taking entrance examinations. The same benefit is currently also available to those who have not remarried.Widows and widowers of military personnel, security officers and other eligible combatants may apply through a separate university admissions quota.Spouses of veterans can also study free of charge in preparatory departments at federal state universities.