Mobilization in Russia for April 16-19, 2026 CIT Volunteer Summary

Army Recruitment

The Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education has circulated a directive to the regions urging universities to more actively expel students and encourage them to sign military contracts, including with drone units. The Mobilization Telegram channel published the document, and the student media outlet Groza [Thunderstorm] confirmed its authenticity after receiving a photograph of a directive from the so-called Crimean Ministry of Education referencing the federal ministry's document. The directive states that heads of educational institutions, "as part of the Ministry of Defense's initiative to staff the Unmanned Systems Forces," must establish close cooperation with draft offices and hold more recruitment lectures, meetings and events to enlist students for contract service. Officials are instructed to pay "special attention" to the "personal example of the teaching and administrative staff." University administrations must also explain to students who face expulsion the option of "promptly signing a contract with the MoD followed by academic leave or transfer to correspondence courses." They are instructed to monitor student performance and class attendance closely so that "only those ready to diligently complete their studies continue." The document demands eliminating "all unjustified leniency" toward students by strictly monitoring academic performance and attendance, as well as carefully checking medical documents and other certificates that students use to justify absences. Administrators are required to send draft offices and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education lists of students slated for expulsion, with plans to enroll "veterans and participants of the special military operation" in their places in the future.

At the College of Food and Service in Novosibirsk, administrators offered 14 expelled final-year students the chance to sign contracts for military service in exchange for reinstatement and their diplomas. The college had expelled the young men before their exams for "failing to fulfill their duties to diligently master the curriculum," citing a supposedly failed test. According to the mother of one student, the administration said that if the students enlisted as UAV operators, the college would issue the diplomas and revoke the expulsion. Officials presented the document as a "contract for regular conscription," despite the lack of draft notices, and handed out copies of the contracts to the students, urging them to sign.

In the Sverdlovsk region, since November 2025, 21 students from universities and colleges have signed contracts with the MoD, and all were reportedly assigned to the Unmanned Systems Forces, according to Dmitry Demenkov, head of the recruitment office in the city of Yekaterinburg. He said students are offered one-year contracts with the option to take academic leave and later resume their studies, including the possibility of transferring to tuition-free places reserved for participants in the war against Ukraine. Demenkov added that such terms are more often accepted by college students, while university students are "still considering their options."

In the city of Belgorod, men aged 18 to 60 have begun receiving personalized letters delivered to their mailboxes, offering them the opportunity to sign a one-year contract. The letters promise a sign-up bonus starting from 800,000 rubles [$10,500], a monthly salary from 210,000 rubles [$2,760], as well as the possibility of suspending driver’s license revocation orders and writing off outstanding loans.

Aleksandr Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad region, has called on residents—particularly war veterans and those with combat experience—to sign three-year reserve contracts as part of measures to "strengthen and enhance the protection" of the region’s airspace. These reservists are to be organized into mobile air defense fire teams, which are planned to be deployed at industrial sites and critical infrastructure facilities. The units will be placed under the command of the 6th Guards Air and Air Defense Forces Army and other formations stationed in the region. According to Drozdenko, all reservists will be formally employed by the enterprises they are assigned to protect. Their maximum period of service in barracks will be up to two months, or up to six months at the reservist’s own request. At the end of 2025, a law was adopted allowing members of the mobilization reserve to be assigned to carry out tasks for the MoD in peacetime, without a formal mobilization, for the protection of critical infrastructure. Under this framework, reservists can be sent to special training deployments lasting up to two months by presidential decree. At the same time, the legislation provides for the possibility of deploying reservists outside Russia. In December, Putin signed a decree ordering special reserve training deployments in 2026.

Russia’s Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography (Rosreestr) has blocked a real estate transaction due to restrictions imposed by a draft office over failure to appear after receiving an electronic draft notice. A reservist did not report for military training in November 2025 after receiving a draft notice. After a notification via the Gosuslugi public services portal was sent and the reporting deadline passed, the draft office imposed temporary restrictions, which were subsequently entered into the registry. In April 2026, when the individual attempted to register a property transaction, Rosreestr suspended the deal, citing an entry in the register of encumbrances. The restriction—a ban on registration actions based on a decision by the draft office—prompted the agency to request additional confirmation. According to human rights advocates, this is the first known case in which such measures have been both recorded in the system and enforced.

The Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] Telegram channel explains how a mobilization order can be revoked. Under the law, valid grounds include a change of residence accompanied by re-registration for military service, as well as eligibility for a deferment or exemption—for example, having multiple children, caring for relatives, holding a workplace deferment, health conditions or enrollment in education programs. To have the order withdrawn, an application must be submitted to the draft office and the draft board along with supporting documents. Once reviewed, the appropriate notation should be entered into the individual’s military ID.

Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts

According to BBC News Russian, in collaboration with Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] and a team of volunteers, 212,188 Russian servicemen killed since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine have been identified by name using open-source data, including 18,479 mobilized soldiers. Over the past week since the previous update, the list has grown by 3,433 names, including 27 mobilized personnel. Researchers note that although more than 4,600 names were added over the past two weeks, this does not reflect a sudden spike in casualties but rather the nature of the counting process. Because many soldiers die in contested areas, or "gray zones," their bodies are often difficult to recover. As a result, deaths are often confirmed only after being legally recognized in court, a process that can take a significant amount of time.

Igor Tishchenko, a 53-year-old contract soldier living in the Moscow region who is unable to move without crutches due to a spinal injury, was demanded to pay 500,000 rubles [$6,570] to have his service fitness category "D" (unfit for military service) validated. Tishchenko, a native of Russian-occupied Donetsk, signed a contract with the MoD in October 2023. One year later, he sustained a spinal injury during training exercises. During treatment, he was also diagnosed with ischemic heart disease and diabetes. Despite the doctors' conclusion, he was deployed to a combat unit in the town of Avdiivka. After his case was covered in the media in November 2025, Tishchenko was brought back from the frontline and transferred to a hospital in the Novosibirsk region. Following treatment and a military medical board review in December 2025, he was assigned category "D," but the military hospital demanded payment to process the documents. When the serviceman refused to pay, he was redeployed to Donetsk. Tishchenko has not received proper treatment for several months and effectively remains stationed with his unit.

Danila, a 22-year-old resident of the Krasnoyarsk region, was deceived into joining the war effort when he traveled to Yaroslavl for shift work. Danila was initially sent from Yaroslavl to Voronezh, supposedly for job training, but he was instead deployed to the frontline. His final contact was on March 23, when Danila reported that he was being transported to an unknown location. When Danila's family contacted the police, they were told that he had signed a contract with the MoD on March 1, although he had denied doing so. The family later learned that he had been killed in the combat zone on March 25, but authorities did not officially notify them.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

In Petrozavodsk, authorities detained 35‑year‑old Private Valery Senyukov, who had gone AWOL from his unit on March 30. On April 16, while being escorted to Saint Petersburg, Senyukov distracted a 44‑year‑old contract soldier guarding him and stabbed him multiple times in the neck and abdomen inside an apartment where the escort group had stopped to rest. The soldier died at the scene, and Senyukov fled but was quickly detained. The court has ordered that Senyukov be held in pre‑trial detention on charges of murdering a person in the performance of their official duties and desertion. He had been serving since May 20, 2025, and had multiple prior convictions.

In Russia’s Orenburg region, serviceman Sergey Basalayev has been detained after previously opening fire on police officers who attempted to arrest him, killing one. Authorities said Basalayev, who was on the national wanted list, was found near the village of Beloshapka on April 17 after his car was discovered nearby. He was blocked by traffic police officers and taken into custody. He has been placed under arrest on charges of going AWOL, attempted murder of law‑enforcement officers, murder and attempted murder. Basalayev told investigators he had fired on police using a blank‑firing assault rifle that he had purchased in a store and converted to fire live rounds.

The Yekaterinburg Garrison Military Court sentenced 37-year-old war participant Mikhail Slobodyan to 17 years in a penal colony on charges of large-scale illegal drug possession and violating traffic rules resulting in the deaths of two people. He was also ordered to pay compensation totaling 16 million rubles [$210,200] to the victims’ families. On Oct. 27, 2025, in the town of Revda, Slobodyan, intoxicated and without a driver’s license, struck three children—two girls, ages seven and nine, were killed, and an 11-year-old girl was hospitalized in intensive care in critical condition. Alcohol, as well as traces of marijuana and methamphetamine, were found in Slobodyan’s blood, and bottles of alcohol were discovered in his car. Slobodyan signed a military contract in 2023 and was wounded eight times. He was in Revda on leave for recovery.

Igor Panov, a 23-year-old serviceman from Saint Petersburg, has been suing the MoD for nearly two years in an attempt to secure his discharge after the expiration of his contract, signed in 2021. However, he continues to be held in service under a mobilization decree. Earlier, a court found him guilty of going AWOL and gave him a two-year on probation, which was upheld on appeal. A military medical board assigned him a service fitness category "V" (partially fit for military service) due to a mental health disorder. After attempting suicide in December 2025, he was admitted to the intensive care unit. However, he claims that he has still been unable to obtain full hospitalization.

The Chita Garrison Military Court sentenced mobilized soldier Dmitry Sosnin to four years in a penal colony on charges of publicly calling for activities against state security. According to investigators, in October 2024 he sent a voice message to a closed Telegram group of fellow servicemen urging them to seize the armory and kill their commanders; some members of the group expressed support for his remarks. The group had a total of 42 participants. Sosnin pleaded guilty and said he had no intention of acting on his statements, attributing the message to dissatisfaction with his service and to alcohol intoxication.

The Southern District Military Court sentenced Serhii Krasiuk, a 32-year-old serviceman of the Azov Brigade, to six years in a penal colony on charges of participating in a terrorist organization. A native of Ukraine’s Khmelnytskyi region, he worked as a painter-plasterer before the war. In Ukraine he has been listed as missing in action since April 2022, and his case was heard as part of a group trial involving 40 Ukrainian citizens facing similar charges.

The same court also sentenced five Azov Brigade servicemen on charges of participating in a terrorist organization and undergoing training for terrorist activity. Oleksandr Rudenko, a 25-year-old tank gunner; Ihor Hai, a 24-year-old sniper; and Stanislav Honcharenko, a 30-year-old medical instructor, were each sentenced to 18 years in a maximum security penal colony. Oleksandr Dokiychuk, a 25-year-old artilleryman, received 17 years, while Stanislav Kukushkin, 46, was sentenced to 20 years. Honcharenko joined the Azov Brigade in January 2015; Kukushkin and Hai in 2020; Rudenko in the summer of 2021; and Dokiychuk in the winter of 2022. All five were captured in May 2022.

The 2nd Western District Military Court sentenced Andrii Hrynchyshyn, a 46-year-old Ukrainian serviceman, to 15 years in a penal colony on charges of carrying out a terrorist attack committed in a group. According to prosecutors, on Feb. 14, 2025, Hrynchyshyn entered the Kursk region, where he took part in the armed blockade and unlawful occupation of territory, and was captured on April 9 of the same year.

A court in the Altai Republic ordered a 16-year-old resident into pretrial detention on charges of making a false report of a terrorist attack and undergoing training for terrorist activity. Investigators say that in December 2025, he told school staff about plans to carry out explosions targeting the regional government and the Education Ministry. In a video of his interrogation, the teenager said he had discussed with a psychologist at a draft office the idea of blowing up the office if drafted and had studied materials on how to make explosive devices.

In the Leningrad region, a 14-year-old teenager suspected of an act of terror has been detained. The ninth-grade student is accused of setting fire to a transformer substation and a relay cabinet at the Lavriki and Devyatkino railway stations in the Vsevolozhsky district on April 16. The court placed him under house arrest.

In the Kaliningrad region, a court has sent two 16-year-old youths to a pre-trial detention center in a case involving participation in the activities of a terrorist organization. According to investigators, in 2025 they established contact with a certain "terrorist organization," on whose instructions they photographed communication towers, a draft office in the town of Guryevsk and other facilities in March of the same year. They were supposed to send the obtained materials to handlers along with coordinates, for which they allegedly received 25,000 rubles [$330].

The Second Western District Military Court has toughened the sentence of 35-year-old paramedic Ivan Kolosov, imposing 12 years of imprisonment on new charges of justifying terrorism and "confidential" cooperation with foreigners, initiated while he was already in custody. Previously, Kolosov had been sentenced to nine years in a case involving preparation for participation in illegal armed groups due to alleged plans to join the Freedom of Russia Legion and fight on the side of Ukraine. The new case was initiated on the basis of conversations in a messaging app about such participation. Acquaintances of Kolosov doubted his intention to fight for Ukraine but noted his anti-war stance.

Russian investigators have opened a new treason case against 19-year-old Aleksandr Leleko, who is already serving a six-and-a-half-year sentence for sabotage. According to human rights advocate Ivan Astashin, Leleko was transferred from a penal colony to a prison hospital in the Krasnoyarsk region, where he was pressured to give a testimony, including being given psychotropic drugs. He was later moved to a pre-trial detention center in Krasnoyarsk. Leleko was detained in 2023 at the age of 16. According to investigators, on June 30, he and several other teenagers, acting "on instructions from an unidentified person," set fire to railway relay cabinets in exchange for payment. The Vot Tak [Like This] media outlet spoke with his relative about how he came to be imprisoned. Human rights advocates say that cases in which new charges are brought against individuals already serving sentences are becoming increasingly common.

A military court of the Pacific Fleet has sentenced 24-year-old Vadim Dyachenko from the Primorsky region to 15 years in prison on charges of a terrorist attack. According to investigators, on Dec. 14, 2024, he used Molotov cocktails to set fire to a Sberbank branch, an administrative building and a vehicle belonging to the Ministry of Emergency Situations in the town of Bolshoy Kamen. He was detained following a series of arson attacks. Investigators say that Dyachenko acted under the direction of fraudsters who first persuaded him to take out a loan. They then instructed him to carry out the attacks as a way to repay his debts. The court also granted claims for damages.

The Southern District Military Court sentenced a lawyer from the city of Yekaterinburg, Denis Tamantsev, to 25 years in prison on charges including calls for extremist activity, justifying terrorism, participation in a terrorist organization, preparing an act of terror and the illegal trafficking of weapons and explosives. According to investigators, in 2023 he posted calls for violence on social media and files supporting the Freedom of Russia Legion. He later entered into correspondence with one of its members, submitted an application to join and, investigators say, retrieved weapons from a cache in Astrakhan in preparation for an attack on court bailiffs before being detained.

In Russian-occupied territory, a court established by the authorities and described as the Kherson regional court sentenced a local resident, Vyacheslav Tvazhinsky, to 14 years in a penal colony on charges of espionage and treason. According to investigators, from the spring of 2022 through January 2024, he passed information about the deployment of Russian military vehicles and personnel to the Ukrainian side. Officials said that actions taken before he received Russian citizenship in May 2023 were classified as espionage, and those afterward as treason.

Assistance

Russia’s health minister, Mikhail Murashko, said that more than 2,700 specialized offices providing psychological assistance to war participants had opened across the country between 2023 and 2025.

Longreads

The Vot Tak media outlet reported on the alleged embezzlement of payments, abuse and the deployment of soldiers to assault operations within the 5th Combined Arms Army, from which more than 6,000 servicemen have reportedly deserted.