Authorities in Chita issued a digital draft notice to a 55-year-old reserve officer, summoning him to the local draft office for a data check-up. Last September, the man received a similar paper notice. When he visited the draft office, he learned it was for military training. Previously, several reports had emerged from residents of the Tver region who also received digital draft notices.
In the second quarter of 2025, 37,900 people signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense. The independent Russian investigative media outlet Vazhnyye Istorii [IStories] derived this number by reviewing federal budget expenditure data on payments to new recruits. This number is 2.5 times fewer than in the same period in 2024, when 92,800 people received bonuses for signing a contract. In total, 127,500 people received payments in the first half of this year, compared to 166,200 in the same period of 2024. Meanwhile, Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, announced 210,000 new contract soldiers—a number 1.6 times higher than the official budget data indicates. However, researcher Janis Kluge’s analysis...
The authorities of the Saratov region introduced a new sign-up bonus of 500,000 rubles [$6,260] for former law enforcement officers who are ready to go to war with Ukraine. Retired employees of the police, Rosgvardia [the Russian National Guard], the prosecutor’s office, the Federal Penitentiary Service, the Investigative Committee, and other security agencies can apply for it if they sign a contract for military positions to be staffed by sergeants and soldiers between Aug. 1 and Dec. 31, 2025. Former law enforcement officers will also be able to receive sign-up bonuses of 400,000 rubles [$5,010] from the national budget and 700,000 rubles [$8,770] from the regional budget, as well as municipal payments and payments from other sources...
Russian military personnel who need to appear before a military medical board, may soon travel for free. Lawmakers introduced a new bill in the State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] to cover these expenses. At present, members of "volunteer units," such as BARS [Special Combat Army Reserve], are already entitled to free travel by rail, air, water and road in these circumstances. The new bill would extend this policy to other agencies with military personnel.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense has expanded the criteria for obtaining combat veteran status to include service members participating in the war in territories adjacent to the so-called "special military operation zone." Military personnel serving in the annexed Crimea, the Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions, and specific districts within the Krasnodar and Voronezh regions can now receive this status. Additionally, service members disabled by injuries sustained in these areas are now entitled to the status of a disabled war veteran.
In Russia’s constituent Republic of Tatarstan, the payment for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense has been increased from 2.1 million [$26,300] to 2.7 million rubles [$33,800]. This is already the third increase in 2025, with the previous one taking place in January. An additional 400,000 rubles [$5,010] is paid by the national authorities, and up to 300,000 rubles [$3,750] by municipalities and enterprises in Tatarstan.
Widows of participants in the war against Ukraine may be granted the right to free higher education. Nina Ostanina, Chair of the State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] Committee on Family Protection, has introduced such a bill. The benefit is already available to the combatants themselves and their children. The widows would need to pass entrance exams for bachelor’s and specialist degree programs, although they would receive priority over other candidates with similar grades. They would also be entitled to priority enrollment in colleges for vocational education regardless of their scores on the State Final Attestation, Russia's mandatory school-leaving examination. This legislative effort follows a report by Vazhnyye...
Despite the 2023 Law on Digital Draft Notices allowing remote de-registration, Russian courts are still mandating that individuals appear in person to be removed from military rolls. Draft offices have widely refused remote de-registration requests, citing that the Unified Military Register and its associated systems are not yet operational. Cassation courts in Moscow, Khabarovsk, and other regions upheld this stance, ruling that the absence of the digital register precludes de-registration via power of attorney or through the Gosuslugi public services portal. The courts have consistently affirmed that individuals can only be removed from the military rolls by appearing in person.
Russia’s regions are shifting at least part of their military recruitment costs to the federal budget, notes Janis Kluge, Deputy Head of Research Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. Several regions reclassified expenditures for the one-time bonus, awarded for signing contracts with the Ministry of Defense. The Tomsk region, for example, cut its spending on "payments to citizens who participate in the special military operation" from 1.1 billion to 300 million rubles [from $13.71 million to $3.74 million]. In parallel, it spent 800 million rubles [$9.97 million] over the same period on "measures related to conducting the special military operation, using funds from regional debt write-offs." Kluge...
The families of foreign nationals killed in the war against Ukraine can now apply for Russian citizenship through a simplified procedure. A decree from Vladimir Putin extends this right to the spouses, children and parents of fighters who served under contract with the Russian Armed Forces. Under existing regulations, this simplified path to citizenship waives the requirement to reside continuously in the Russian Federation for five years after receiving a residency permit.