The Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] Telegram channel reports that the federal government introduced amendments in late August to the Regulations on Military Medical Examination, a document defining the examination rules for military personnel and conscripts. The new rules introduce an exception: the validity of rulings for service fitness category "V" and "D" (partially fit and unfit for military service, respectively) now extends to the entire mobilization period and for one year after it concludes, instead of the previous one-year term. Additionally, the maximum period for medical treatment and leave has been extended to 10 months from four. The duration of sick leave can now vary between 30 and 90 days, compared with the...
Russian military recruitment increased over the summer after a slowdown in May. The number of new contract soldiers reached nearly 35,000 in August. German economist Janis Kluge based the estimate on his analysis of Russian regional budget data. A new round of increases in regional sign-up bonuses began in June 2025, boosting payments in the Irkutsk, Omsk, Kemerovo, Novosibirsk, Tambov, Tver, Vladimir and Krasnoyarsk regions, as well as Sevastopol. According to Kluge’s tally, the average cost to recruit a contract soldier grew from 1.5 million rubles [$18,400] in January 2025 to about 2 million rubles [$24,600] by the end of the summer. That figure will likely climb to 2.5 million rubles [$30,700] by the end of 2025.
The fall conscription campaign in the Leningrad region will be conducted using an "electronic database," said the region’s deputy governor for security Mikhail Ilyin. He did not specify whether the "electronic database" referred to the Unified Military Register.
In the Chelyabinsk region, draft office officials handed a 17-year-old high school student, who was undergoing initial military registration, a document promoting contract military service and requested that he sign it. According to the Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods/Get lost you all] Telegram channel, draft offices use such documents to put pressure on visitors, but signing them is not obligatory, as the documents have no legal authority.
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a government resolution giving draft offices more time to execute conscription decisions. They no longer need to send an individual immediately to their unit during the current regular conscription campaign. They can do so in subsequent campaigns within 12 months of the decision. The State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] passed the corresponding legislative changes, which Vladimir Putin signed in April. In July, lawmakers introduced a set of bills to the State Duma that would establish year-round conscription, although they have yet to vote on it.
Participants in the war against Ukraine and their families may be exempted from mandatory job placement after graduating from medical and pharmaceutical universities. A new Ministry of Health bill would subject all graduates from state-funded programs to compulsory job assignments. Graduates who refuse their posting would be liable for the full cost of their education plus a penalty of twice that amount. However, the bill creates exceptions for several groups, including participants in the war and their families, children of medical workers who died from COVID-19, individuals with disabilities, orphans, combat veterans, and winners of academic olympiads. If the bill passes, it will take effect on March 1, 2026.
The Ukrainian Hochu Zhit [I Want to Live] project has reported that since the beginning of 2025 at least 122 citizens of Turkmenistan have signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense to take part in the war against Ukraine. The project stated that citizens of Turkmenistan comprise a minority among the mercenaries recruited from other Central Asian countries. However, despite resistance from Turkmenistan authorities, the recruitment rate has increased each year since 2023. Previously, the Hochu Zhit project published the names of 628 Tajik citizens who signed contracts with the Russian MoD since the beginning of 2025.
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...