Mobilization in Russia for April 24-27, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary

Conscription and Military Service Advertising

Authorities in the Zabaykalsky region [Russia's federal subject] will raise the one-time regional bonus for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense to 2 million rubles [$24,200] from 600,000 [$7,260]. When combined with the federal component of 400,000 rubles [$4,840], recruits will receive a total of 2.4 million rubles [$29,040] in incentives.

Authorities in Ulyanovsk introduced a 200,000-ruble [$2,420] referral fee for anyone who helps recruit volunteers to fight in the "special military operation." The amount stands as Russia’s largest, exceeding the 150,000 rubles [$1,810] that the Republic of Tatarstan offers for attracting volunteer fighters. Officials plan to spend 26 million rubles [$314,400] on freelance recruiters by the end of April, a budget that would cover 130 new soldiers.

Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts

Based on open sources, Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] and BBC News Russian, together with volunteers, have verified the names of 104,763 Russian fighters killed in Ukraine, including 11,893 mobilized soldiers. Over the past week, the list has grown by 1,488 soldiers. Additionally, Mediazona analyzed the casualties during the "Christmas truce" on January 6 and 7, 2023. Journalists found that combat operations actually continued during this period, with at least 274 Russian servicemen confirmed killed from obituaries alone. Concurrently, internal data on losses from the Wagner Group indicated that 329 mercenaries were killed over the two-day period.

The Vazhnyye Istorii [IStories, independent Russian investigative media outlet] has revealed that 21-year-old Michael Gloss, the son of the CIA's Deputy Director for Digital Innovation Julianne Gallina Gloss, was killed in the war with Ukraine. According to journalists, after a trip to Russia in 2023, Gloss, who had previously held pacifist views, voluntarily went to the recruitment center on Yablochkova Street in Moscow and signed a contract with the Russian MoD. He soon found himself on the frontline as part of the Russian Airborne Troops. Gloss had stated that he joined the army in order to obtain a Russian passport.

Andrey Shvarev, the former head of Penal Colony No. 37 in the Perm region [Russia’s federal subject] who had been convicted of bribery, was killed in the war. News of his death came from his lawyer during a legal dispute with the regional branch of the Federal Penitentiary Service over Shvarev’s pension payments. Shvarev had been sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony on charges of abuse of power and bribery. In January, he signed a contract with the MoD and was sent from the penal colony to the frontline.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

At an exhibition of "captured military equipment" in the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, a child died after being struck by the hatch of an armored personnel carrier. Following the incident, the entire exhibition of military trophies has been cordoned off with tape.

In the Vladimir region, on April 19, military personnel killed one of Russia’s leading makers of orienteering maps, Konstantin Tokmakov, according to the Federation of Orienteering of the Leningrad region. A Mediazona source reported that two servicemen attacked him while he was drawing a map near a military base. He was assaulted and left in the forest. Tokmakov managed to send his coordinates to other cartographers and turned on a special flashlight to send an SOS signal, but help did not arrive in time. According to the source, an autopsy confirmed that Tokmakov died from the beatings. The victim’s wife said that Tokmakov "died at the hands of servicemen while working under a government contract to create an orienteering map." According to her, the perpetrators have been detained and an investigation is underway.

In the city of Makiivka, located in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Donetsk region, a fatal traffic accident occurred when a military KAMAZ truck failed to yield to pedestrians at a crosswalk. A 20-year-old student from the local academy, Aleksandr, was killed in the incident. The victim’s relatives confirmed his death but declined to comment. The driver was reportedly a serviceman from Chechnya [Russia's constituent republic], Samrail Yagayev, who did not respond to journalists' calls.

The Astra Telegram channel also reports that in Donetsk, a serviceman from the 110th Rifle Regiment, Vlas Voronkin, has been detained on suspicion of raping a local 15-year-old girl. It is alleged that no criminal case has yet been opened against Voronkin.

According to Astra, on April 22, two servicemen from the 177th Naval Infantry Regiment abandoned their positions near the village of Plyokhovo in the Sudzha district of the Kursk region and fled to an undisclosed location. One of the deserters, Andrey Chernousov from Mordovia, had previously been convicted of armed robbery in 2018 and sentenced to eight and a half years in a penal colony. The second deserter, Viktor Smolin, is from Lyubertsy, near Moscow. Both men left their posts armed. They had signed military contracts at the end of March 2025.

Three 17-year-old teenagers from Kemerovo have been sentenced to five to six years of imprisonment on charges of sabotage and assisting sabotage activities. According to investigators, the teenagers set fire to a relay cabinet on the railway section between Bochaty and Artyshta-1 stations. The police reported the detention of the juveniles in May 2024. The detainees stated that they had responded online to an offer to earn 60,000 rubles [$730] and received instructions for the arson, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The Southern District Military Court has received a criminal case against Eldar Karmeev, Rafael Kirakosyan, Grigor Muradyan and Ivan Oancha, accused of committing acts of terror and attempting to commit a terrorist attack. According to the Federal Security Service (FSB), the accused set fire to transformer substations in the Pervomaysky district of Rostov-on-Don and planned to attack the main oil pipeline of Chernomortransneft. All four were detained in January 2024 and arrested for 10 days for allegedly disobeying police orders, and in March 2024 it became known that a criminal case had been initiated. It is worth noting that Oancha is originally from Khartsyzk [an occupied territory of the Donetsk region], Karmeev is from Rostov-on-Don, Kirakosyan is from Yerevan (previously convicted for purchasing mephedrone), and Muradyan, who had been convicted twice before, is from Gyumri.

In Apatity, Murmansk region, four schoolchildren—15-year-old Ramir M., 16-year-old Sergey S., 17-year-old Pavel P., and 15-year-old Kirill P.—were detained on suspicion of setting fire to railcars. According to law enforcement, on the evening of April 17, a coupling of two railcars caught fire on the tracks; the vehicles were unguarded, without batteries or fuel. The fire was extinguished, but both railcars were completely burned out. During the investigation, law enforcement detained the four schoolchildren, charging them with an act of terror. It is claimed they were promised 80,000 to 100,000 rubles [$1,210] for the crime.

The FSB also reported the detention in Sochi of a Romanian citizen accused of espionage. The intelligence service claims that the man, allegedly acting on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence services, collected and passed on information about the locations of Russian air defense systems in 2024. In exchange, he was promised assistance to safely leave Russia and join a volunteer unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

On April 23, Moscow resident Dmitry F. was arrested on charges of treason, as reported by the Ostorozhno, Novosti [Beware the News] Telegram channel. Several months before the criminal case, the man had been detained for "using foul language" and later placed under administrative arrest for 15 days for petty hooliganism. According to court documents, the man was detained in the liquor store, where he allegedly used profanity and disobeyed the police. His whereabouts after his release are unknown. Details of the treason case remain undisclosed due to its classified status.

A woman from Khabarovsk has been sentenced to 15 years in a penal colony for treason. According to the local prosecutor’s office, in March 2024 the woman contacted the Russian Volunteer Corps and transmitted "information about the location of administrative buildings of a law enforcement agency in Khabarovsk, as well as personal data of one of its employees."

AFU servicemen Vasily Moisey, Stepan Kobelyuk, Andriy Zhurba, and Oleksandr Dmitriev, who were captured by Russian soldiers, have been found guilty of committing acts of terrorism in Russia’s Kursk region. Moisey and Dmitriev were sentenced to 15.5 years in a penal colony, while Kobelyuk and Zhurba received 16 years each. According to investigators, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 5, 2024, Moisey, Kobelyuk, and Dmitriev, while stationed near the village of Olgovka in the Korenevsky district of the Kursk region, set up observation and firing positions, intimidated local residents, obstructed the evacuation of civilians, and repeatedly fired at Russian military personnel and civilians. According to law enforcement agencies, in August 2024 Zhurba mined roads in the village of Oleshnya, Sudzhansky district, Kursk region, and prevented the evacuation of civilians by threatening them with weapons.

Assistance

The Heroes League football tournament organized by the Russian Football Union and the Paralympic Committee for war veterans who have lost limbs in the war took place. Seven teams participated in the tournament.

Children and Educational System

The Magadan mayor’s office announced that on May 8, a parade of preschoolers will be held at the local sports complex. Children aged 6-7 from 27 kindergartens will participate in the event dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

Miscellaneous

The first private "special military operation" museum has been opened in Kazan. The museum's founder, Andrey Mishenkin, a former military serviceman, entrepreneur, and volunteer of a foundation aiding Russian soldiers, stated that the project's aim is to evoke emotions and depict the daily life and struggles of people in Donbas.

Longreads

The Idel.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet released a second article about Chuvash volunteer battalions. Previously, they covered the Atal Battalion, and in their latest publication, they discuss the Sura Battalion.