Mobilization in Russia for April 13-16, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary
Authorities and Legislation
Russian authorities may classify the work of OSINT analysts during the war against Ukraine as treason, Vasily Piskaryov warns. A member of the State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly], he chairs its security committee and the commission on foreign interference. According to him, NATO officials are interested in information on the actions of Russian soldiers "in the course of the special military operation" and on schemes to bypass sanctions imposed on the country. Piskaryov claims that these foreign officials use the services of "Russian expatriates who gather intelligence from open sources (OSINT)," adding that Russian investigators may prosecute such cooperation under the Criminal Code’s article on high treason.
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
On April 15, the government of the Yamalo‑Nenets autonomous region [Russia’s federal subject] will cut the regional bonus for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense to fight in Ukraine, lowering the payout it introduced in January from 3.1 million to 1.9 million rubles [from $37,500 to $23,000]. A source told the URA.RU media outlet that officials made the reduction because of a surge of volunteers that overwhelmed draft offices, whose employees have struggled to process contracts for applicants who began arriving in mid‑March.
Tyumen resident Andrey Rybko left to fight in the war, a bailiff told the mother of the 13‑year‑old boy he tried to strangle while drunk in Sept. 2023. A passerby intervened and saved the boy. Police arrested Rybko three weeks after the attack. His criminal record already included a conviction for rape. A court later convicted him of attempted murder of a minor with molestation motives and handed him a four‑year sentence. Prosecutors appealed the sentence, considering it too light, but proceedings will likely be suspended at the cassation hearing scheduled for May 28, now that the perpetrator has enlisted.
In the town of Volsk, Saratov region, a court has suspended the criminal case against 43-year-old truck driver Aleksandr Nikulin, who was accused of inflicting grievous bodily harm that led to the death of the victim—his 76-year-old mother. Nikulin pleaded guilty, but during the investigation, he signed a contract with the MoD and was deployed to the war.
Police officer Aleksandr Matyukhin, who was accused by Moscow resident and native of the city of Vladikavkaz Tamerlan Marzoyev of beating and insulting him on ethnic grounds, has gone to the war, according to the human rights group Komanda Protiv Pytok [Team Against Torture]. Matyukhin joined the war effort back in the summer after Russia’s Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against him for abuse of power. In his official statement, Matyukhin claimed he was performing a combat maneuver and fell on Marzoyev, causing the latter to hit his jaw on the butt of an assault rifle. The investigation has since been suspended.
A 41-year-old resident of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Dmitry, was also deployed to the war after stealing an antique samovar from the vacant home of a 60-year-old woman. During the investigation, he confessed to the crime and agreed to sign a contract with the MoD and go to the frontline.
In the city of Irkutsk, a court suspended the criminal case against local resident Nikita Dolgopolov, who is accused of a series of frauds causing total damages of 10 million rubles [$121,000]. Dolgopolov signed a contract with the MoD to participate in the war. According to investigators, he met people on Tinder and, under the pretext of allegedly facing severe personal difficulties, convinced them to give him money before disappearing without a trace.
Conscription Campaign
Roundups related to the spring conscription campaign for compulsory military service have begun in Moscow. The first reported case of detention in the Moscow metro was shared by the Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods/Get lost you all] Telegram channel. A young man was on his way to work, carrying medical documents, when police officers entered the train car at the Novomoskovskaya station and asked him to step out. They checked his documents, claiming he was wanted by the draft office, and escorted him to a police room. Ultimately, a Ministry of Internal Affairs officer instructed him to report to the Unified Military Recruitment Center to avoid further detentions.
The Movement of Conscientious Objectors [a human rights organization supporting those who refuse to perform military service] reported a case involving a young man who was detained in the metro. He had been conscripted the previous fall without undergoing a medical examination. Citing an unspecified order, authorities took him to a police station and then transported him to a military collection point. Thanks to assistance from human rights advocates, he was examined by doctors, referred for additional medical evaluation and ultimately released from the collection point.
The Prizyv k Sovesti [Call to Conscience] coalition also reported several cases of detentions and attempts to forcibly conscript individuals based on outdated draft decisions, despite a lack of legal grounds. It is worth noting that recent amendments to the conscription law—which would permit conscription based on previous draft board decisions—have not yet come into force. Even once enacted, the law is not retroactive and should not be applied to past cases.
Three other detention cases were reported by the Ostorozhno, Novosti Telegram channel. In one instance, a young man who had grounds for draft exemption— hypertension—was detained in the metro and taken to a police station, with authorities citing requests from the draft office regarding his wanted status. In the second case, the detention also occurred at a metro station. Police officers took a young man previously diagnosed with atopic dermatitis to a police station, intending to immediately send him to a military collection point. Following his detention, contact with him was lost, and his whereabouts remain unknown. A third man was also detained without explanation and was forbidden from communicating with relatives by phone. In total, according to information from the draftees’ relatives, there are reports of at least five detentions on the streets or in the metro in Moscow.
Moscow's human-rights ombudsman Tatyana Potyaeva reported receiving over 100 appeals from draftees. According to her, after the spring conscription campaign began, "appeals started flowing in like a flood." Young men are seeking assistance with alternative service options and are attempting to draw the attention of military commissars to their health conditions.
Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts
Relatives of military personnel missing in action from the 25th Motorized Rifle Brigade have appealed to Vladimir Putin with complaints about the unit’s commanders. According to family members, commanders are ignoring their inquiries, with some not receiving notifications about their missing loved ones for six to seven months—during which time monetary allowances are not being paid. Previously, relatives of other soldiers missing in action from the 25th Brigade recorded a collective video address, complaining that the command was not communicating with them.
A video has also emerged, recorded by soldiers of the 25th Brigade themselves, in which they complain that, despite having been assigned service fitness category "D" (unfit for military service), the unit’s command continues to send wounded servicemen on combat missions. In the footage, many of the soldiers are seen moving with the help of crutches or canes.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
According to the Dos’ye Shpiona [Spy Dossier] Telegram channel, on April 4 in Donetsk, Aleksandr Deyev, a serviceman of the 120th Artillery Brigade, opened fire on his fellow soldiers while heavily intoxicated, killing three and wounding another. Deyev fled the scene. Later, during his detention by the commandant's office, he sustained a gunshot wound to the neck and was taken to a hospital.
In the Altai region [Russia’s federal subject], a war participant on leave has been arrested on suspicion of murder. On April 4, a resident of the village of Krasnogorskoye was drinking alcohol with an acquaintance. A quarrel broke out between the men, resulting in the suspect stabbing the other man with a kitchen knife, leading to his death.
In the Leningrad region, a war participant has been detained on suspicion of murdering his 34-year-old female partner. The woman’s body, bearing severe bruises on her chest, was discovered on April 13 in the village of Yalgelevo. The suspect, a 32-year-old man, was found nearby in a state of heavy intoxication. Preliminary information indicates that he was serving in Kursk but went AWOL. He is currently being held in a detention facility, and the issue of initiating a criminal case is being considered.
In the town of Asbest in the Sverdlovsk region, a serviceman has been detained on suspicion of online solicitation of a minor and transmitting obscene material to her. The Astra Telegram channel has reported that last year, a 21-year-old soldier began corresponding with a 13-year-old schoolgirl from Asbest and sending her intimate photos. In addition, investigators are examining whether the man engaged in sexual activities with the minor or used her for the production of pornography.
In Russia's constituent Republic of Bashkortostan, a serviceman from the 1st Missile Brigade has been accused of raping a 16-year-old girl. ASTRA has reported that her mother, a milkmaid in the Aurgazinsky district, filed a complaint with the police that a contract soldier returned from the frontline and raped her daughter at his house. The suspect was identified as a 25-year-old with a previous conviction for sexual intercourse with a person under 16 in 2021.
A military court in the Vladimir region has handed down a guilty verdict against a serviceman accused of going AWOL, making death threats and committing rape. His name, as well as details of the case, were not disclosed on the court's website.
In Volgograd, Ruslan Zhadaev, a father of many children who signed a contract with the MoD, has been sentenced to five years in a penal settlement for going AWOL. Zhadaev left his military unit in September 2023 and was absent for almost a year. According to his account, he was raising four children without their mother and working as a taxi driver to support them. In August 2024, he reported to the police. During the investigation, he was placed under the supervision of his unit commander, and the children were transferred to a social rehabilitation center for minors, where they remain to this day.
The Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Garrison Military Court has sentenced Roman Ivanishin, a mobilized miner from the Sakhalin region, to 15 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of voluntary surrender, attempted surrender and desertion. He has also been stripped of his rank of junior sergeant. The prosecution had requested a 16-year sentence. This is the first court verdict in Russia in a case of voluntary surrender to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Read more about this case in our previous summaries (1, 2).
The independent media outlets Vyorstka and Vazhnyye Istorii [IStories] have published reports on the record number of convictions handed down to Russian military personnel. Citing 2024 statistics from the Judicial Department, journalists found that over the past year, Russian garrison military courts sentenced almost 13,700 servicemen. This figure is almost double that of 2023, when more than 7,700 were convicted, and marks the highest number since 2010—the earliest year for which such data is available. The estimated financial damage caused by these crimes increased tenfold compared to the previous year, reaching 25 billion rubles [$302 million]. More than half of those convicted—over 6,800 individuals—received actual prison sentences, another record-high figure. As Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] notes, the statistics may suggest an unprecedented crime wave within the Russian Armed Forces. However, this impression is misleading: the surge is largely due to prosecutions for desertion and conscientious objection. By the end of 2024, courts were dealing with approximately 16,000 such cases.
The Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] Telegram channel covers several cases in which military courts have overturned fines imposed by draft offices. In one case, a conscript who failed to report to the draft office after receiving a draft notice—because he had appealed the draft board's decision in court—was issued a protocol and a fine of 30,000 rubles [$360] by the deputy head of the draft office. The conscript went to court, which ruled in his favor, as the draft office failed to provide any evidence that the conscript had been properly notified about the date and time the protocol was issued. The fine was subsequently revoked. In another case, the circumstances and the fine amount were almost identical.
In the Central Federal District, special police units have been established to prevent sabotage on the railways. These units are equipped with armored protection, armored vehicles, drones and modern anti-drone rifles. The crews of these vehicles patrol remote sections of railway lines and other transport infrastructure "to prevent unlawful interference with railway operations."
The 2nd Eastern District Military Court sentenced 24-year-old Ilya Katukiya to 13 years in prison after finding him guilty of treason, attempting a terrorist attack and justifying terrorism. According to the prosecution, Katukiya was a supporter of the Russian Volunteer Corps and opposed the political course of the Russian Federation. He allegedly corresponded with a representative of the Russian Volunteer Corps, stating his "intention to assist in activities against the security of the Russian Federation." Acting on the orders of his "handler," Katukiya reportedly identified and inspected a site where he later planned to install a device to derail a train. He was apprehended by the Federal Security Service (FSB) at the site of the planned attack.
A military court sentenced five youths to prison terms ranging from 12.5 to 18 years in a penal colony for sabotage and an act of terror. They were accused of setting fire to a relay cabinet and carrying out an arson attack on a Ministry of Emergency Situations helicopter. Nikita Bulgakov, aged 22, was sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment; Stanislav Khamidullin, 22, and Roman Yakovets, 21, each received 17.5 years; Daniil Yamskov, 22, was given 17 years; and Anastasia Mochalina, 20, received 12.5 years. Previously, the prosecution had requested 19 years in a maximum security penal colony for all young men and 13 years in a penal colony for Mochalina. According to investigators, the young people, seeking side jobs, received tasks from unknown persons—first to set fire to relay cabinets on a railway, and then to a search-and-rescue helicopter at the Ostafyevo airfield in the Moscow region. The defendants insisted they were merely looking for ways to earn money. For the railway arson, they were paid 15,000 rubles [$180], and they agreed to burn the helicopter for 3 million rubles [$36,300], receiving a 10,000-ruble [$120] advance payment before being detained. All defendants acknowledged the act of arson but disputed the charges, advocating for reclassification to lesser offenses. They also maintained that Mochalina, Khamidullin’s girlfriend, was unaware of the planned crimes and the others simply used her bank card.
The Appellate Court in Novosibirsk increased the sentences of four teenagers previously convicted under the article on sabotage for the arson of a Sukhoi Su-24 (Fencer) bomber at the Sukhoi plant in Novosibirsk in spring 2023, as well as the arson of a relay cabinet on the Seyatel-Berdsk railway section and a cellular base station. Savely Ryapolov’s sentence was increased by two months to seven years and two months; Pavel Solovyov’s sentence was also increased by two months to seven years and eight months of imprisonment; Kirill Veselov’s sentence was increased by four and a half years to eleven years in prison; and Viktor Skorobogatov’s sentence was increased by five and a half years to ten and a half years.
In Saint Petersburg, police detained a father and son pair accused of setting fire to railroad relay cabinets on the evening of April 12, between Ligovo and Strelna stations. According to law enforcement, Aleksandr Nabokin, 46, and his 23-year-old son Artyom acted under instructions from a "handler" and were promised 50,000 rubles [$600] for the act. The resulting damage was estimated at 345,000 rubles [$4,170]. Both men confessed and have been charged with committing a terrorist act in a group conspiracy. A court ordered their detention for two months.
In the Leningrad region, a 14-year-old youth was detained on suspicion of setting fire to railroad equipment at the Vyborg station. The teenager is facing charges of attempting to carry out a terrorist attack.
Kurban Gereyev, a student at the Moscow Polytechnical College, has been arrested and charged with participating in a group conspiring to commit an act of terror. According to the prosecution, Gereyev, "under guidance of Ukrainian handlers received through a messenger app, set fire to a relay cabinet along the Ryazan line of the Moscow railway causing material damage to the Russian Railways [Russian fully state-owned railway company] and threatening passenger safety."
In the Kaliningrad region, a court received a case against 30-year-old Ivan Kveselevich, accusing him of cooperation on a confidential basis with a foreign state or organization. Reportedly, the case was initiated in late June or early July 2024. The details of the case remain unknown. According to leaked information, Kveselevich was born in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, and moved to Kaliningrad with his parents no later than 2008.
The FSB has reported the arrest of two Moldovan nationals—32-year-old Yevgeny Kurdoglu and 24-year-old Marius Pruneanu—on charges of preparing an act of terror and transporting explosives. Kurdoglu, who lived in Kerch, was detained in Simferopol. In a video recorded by law enforcement, he claimed that a man he called "Spaniard," with whom he had previously served a prison sentence for theft in Ukraine, offered him an opportunity to "make good money" working for Ukrainian intelligence. According to the detainee, he had been photographing military facilities and the aftermath of Ukrainian strikes in Crimea, including the August 2024 attack on the railway ferry at the Port of Kavkaz. He was allegedly detained upon arriving at the Simferopol train station, where he had gone to photograph "a concentration of military personnel." Pruneanu was arrested earlier, in March 2024. According to the FSB, he had previously fought near Bakhmut on the side of the AFU, as part of the International Legion. In early 2024, he reportedly entered Russia by car via Latvia, smuggling explosives disguised as a car battery. He allegedly planned to bury them in caches in Volgograd and Saratov.
Assistance
The Employment Center of the Primorsky region allocated over 7 million rubles [$84,700] in 2024-2025 for professional training programs aimed at war veterans and their family members. According to Vyorstka, the training covered a range of professions, including drivers, nurses, accountants, psychologists, hairdressers and manicurists. Over the past 15 months, the center signed at least 131 contracts to train 230 people.
In the Samara region, widows of killed soldiers and returning servicemen are now eligible for free university education. In addition, a home assistance program for war veterans has been launched in the city of Chapayevsk.
In the Kunashaksky district of the Chelyabinsk region, a new psychological support program has been introduced for wives and mothers of war participants. The program is designed to help women "accept the situation" and "cope with anxiety independently."
Children and Educational System
In Nizhnevartovsk, children at a local kindergarten took part in a role-playing game titled "We Are Military Scouts."
There have also been reports of war veterans being invited to kindergartens across the country ahead of May 9 [Victory Day] to speak with children about "the importance of the special military operation" and to show items brought back from the frontline.
In the Bazarno-Karabulaksky district of the Saratov region, middle school students took part in a stage of the military-patriotic game "Zarnitsa 2.0." During the tactical medicine competitions, children from a local kindergarten were used as mannequins.