Mobilization in Russia for Aug. 11-12, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

The AFU control 28 localities in the Kursk region, stated the acting governor Aleksey Smirnov during a meeting with Vladimir Putin, adding that 12 civilians have died as a result of the fighting and another 121 have been injured, including 10 children. According to him, 180,000 people should be evacuated, and since Aug. 6, 121,000 have already left. Meanwhile, a number of complaints have surfaced regarding the evacuation’s organization. Elderly residents of the Belovsky district are struggling to reach the assembly point. A woman wrote that she was denied entry into the district when she attempted to pick up her grandmother. The head of the district had previously urged residents to leave and promised to send a bus to collect individuals who could not reach the assembly point on their own. Another Kursk resident wrote that many of her acquaintances had been unable to convince their elderly relatives to leave, due to the latter’s trust in the national media, which have not been reporting on the grave situation in their area. Speaking with the Vot Tak [Like This] media outlet, Head of the Korenevsky district Marina Degtyareva admitted that people were complaining about the way the evacuation was organized. She stressed, however, that authorities had been using social media and the train station’s public announcement system to notify residents, while municipal officials had personally been going around neighborhoods to convince people to leave. Degtyareva said that those who initially refused to leave, but later changed their minds and are now complaining, have only themselves to blame.

In the border areas of the Belgorod region, a large-scale evacuation is also underway. Over 11,000 people have left the Krasnoyaruzhsky district in recent days, with about 500 residents remaining. According to the region's governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, 50-70% of Shebekino's residents have been evacuated. However, the authorities claim they are unable to assist the remaining 115,000 locals due to alleged AFU attacks on medical and rescue vehicles.

The Ministry of Justice is proposing to shorten its turnaround times to "optimize" the way it manages the list of extremist content. The ministry’s officials would have 9 days to prepare a draft resolution to include or exclude an item and 10 days to update the list. Currently, they have 15 and 30 days, respectively, to complete these steps.

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

The authorities of the Zabaykalsky region [Russia's federal subject] have increased the sign-up bonus for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense to participate in the war to 400,000 rubles [$4,520]. This aligns with the minimum regional payment recommended by Putin's decree. Including the national bonus, those signing a contract in the Zabaykalsky region can now receive a total of 800,000 rubles [$9,050].

According to the SHOT Telegram channel, Vladimir Alekseyev, a member of the Tsapok gang serving a life sentence, has submitted a petition requesting to be sent to fight in the war against Ukraine. Alekseyev is described as the most brutal member of the gang, having been the personal bodyguard of the gang leader Sergey Tsapok, and was convicted of the murder of 18 people. Various reports suggest he committed hundreds of rapes, though he was officially charged in only five cases. In 2013, Alekseyev was sentenced to life imprisonment. It was previously reported that Putin had pardoned two other members of the gang granting them freedom in exchange for participating in the war.

A man from Irkutsk, who was facing criminal charges for non-payment of alimony, was deployed to the war with Ukraine. A criminal case was initiated against him for non-payment of child support, and during the investigation, he was persuaded to sign a contract for military service. The criminal case against him has been suspended.

The former vice-governor of the Belgorod region, Konstantin Polezhaev, is also trying to avoid punishment by joining the war effort. As reported by the FONAR.TV [Lantern] media outlet, a Belgorod court has sentenced Polezhaev to five years in a penal colony and a fine of 36 million rubles [$407,100] on charges of accepting a bribe of more than 17 million rubles [$192,200]. In his final statement, Polezhaev said that he had signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense on Aug. 6 and was ready to atone for his actions with his life.

Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers

The Agentstvo [Agency] independent media outlet has identified another conscript who was captured by the AFU in the Kursk region on the evening of Aug. 6, the first day of the attack. Yaroslav Tipusyak from the Tyumen region, born on Aug. 7, 2005, was 18 years old at the time of his capture. According to the young man’s father, his son was conscripted on Dec. 1, 2023, and at the beginning of 2024, he was assigned to the 488th Motorized Rifle Regiment. Two and a half months later, he and other conscripts were transferred to the border of the Kursk region. According to the soldier himself, at the border, he and twenty other conscripts were building dugouts and trenches. On the day of the attack, at 4 a.m., there was a strike on their strongpoint, and at 5 p.m., the soldiers were ordered to prepare for fighting. Several hours later, Tipusyak left his position to survey the area but found no one at the strongpoint and was captured by Ukrainian soldiers.

As uncovered by the Vyorstka media outlet, dozens of conscripts serving on the border in the Kursk region have lost contact with their families following the Ukrainian Armed Forces' breakthrough, with 30 potentially being held as prisoners of war. According to the Ukrainian project "I Want to Find," the exact number of Russian soldiers captured in the Kursk region is unknown, but is likely in the hundreds. The project has confirmed that 47 Russian soldiers, including 30 conscripts, are recognized as POWs and are being sought by their families. Relatives have compiled a list of conscripts who have ceased communication, currently totaling about 70 names. Most of the soldiers out of contact served in the 17th Battalion, as reported in numerous family messages on a major specialized chat. One conscript, Aleksandr, from the 17th Battalion, informed Vyorstka that the fate of 50 of his fellow conscripts remains unknown. According to him, another 20 conscripts have been reportedly evacuated from the combat zone. Meanwhile, over 5,000 people have signed a petition against sending conscripts to the frontline.

Andrey Kartapolov, Chairman of the Defense Committee of the State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia], stated that the AFU’s advance in the Kursk region would not lead to a second wave of mobilization, emphasizing that there were sufficient military personnel on the frontline.

Despite the statements by Kartapolov and other State Duma members, the Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] Telegram channel clarified what to expect in the event of a second wave of mobilization. Reservists up to 51 years old with military ranks and those with officer ranks up to 70 years old, as well as women up to 45 years old and those with officer ranks up to 50 years old will be subject to draft. Draft deferrals may be granted to:

• fathers of four or more children under 16 years old, or three children under 16 years old if the wife is more than 22 weeks pregnant;
• guardians and custodians of minor siblings if no other persons are obligated to support them;
• individuals reserved by their place of work;
• individuals taking care of a close relative who is a first-degree disabled person or who requires constant care;
• citizens whose mothers, in addition to themselves, have four or more children under eight years old and are raising them without a husband;
• those temporarily unfit for military service (category G).

Temporary draft deferrals are also available to full-time and part-time students who are receiving their education at the relevant level for the first time. IT specialists received separate draft deferrals during the first wave of mobilization from MinTsifry [the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of Russia], but the service for issuing draft deferrals has been suspended.

Mandatory draft notices are only those delivered personally by draft office employees, at the place of work or study, or sent by registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt. Failure to appear in response to a draft notice is subject to an administrative fine ranging from 10,000 rubles [$110] to 30,000 rubles [$340]. As of today, there is no criminal liability for evading mobilization.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

In the first seven months of 2024, courts have received 5,204 AWOL cases, according to Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet]. In comparison, 5,096 such cases were filed for the entire year of 2023. The rate of new cases this year has more than doubled—by the end of July last year, there were 2,396 cases. On average, courts are issuing around 40 sentences per day for refusal to serve (which includes not only going AWOL but also failure to execute orders and desertion). By early summer, more than 10,000 soldiers had been convicted under these charges. The number of cases brought against refuseniks may be significantly higher—these cases only become known once they reach court.

In Volgograd, a military KAMAZ truck fatally hit a well-known bicycle restorer, Sergey Tipailov, in front of his children, then fled the scene, only to cause another accident later by crashing into a UAZ. The UAZ driver was hospitalized. At least three passengers were in the KAMAZ truck, all in civilian clothes, who eventually abandoned the vehicle and fled. Later, the 39-year-old driver of the military vehicle was detained, and a criminal case was initiated. According to local media, he may have been a mobilized soldier who stole the truck from a unit.

The Krasnodar Regional Court sentenced Ukrainian citizen Yevhen Monastyryov to 11 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of espionage. According to the prosecution, from January to November 2022, Monastyryov collected information on critical and transport infrastructure objects and photographed them. He then sent this information to Ukrainian military personnel with whom he was in contact.

Assistance

In the universities of Nizhny Novgorod, 1000 places were reserved for the children of participants in the "special military operation," yet only 307 people were enrolled. Meanwhile, 37 war participants and their children were admitted to Perm State University without competition under a quota.

In Novosibirsk, a car confiscated from a driver for drunk driving is planned to be sent to Russian soldiers. Volunteers from a rural school in the Zabaykalsky region are weaving camouflage nets and producing trench candles to be sent to the frontline.

Longreads

The Idel.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet has investigated how wives, sisters, and mothers are searching for their husbands, brothers, and sons who went to the frontline and are now missing in action. One of the women said that she had been looking for her husband for five months.

Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] has published a translation of the investigation by Ukrainian journalists of the Suspilne media outlet into the command of the 6th Motorized Rifle Division of the RuAF, formed from mobilized soldiers, who are accused of torture and murder of subordinates.

The Vot Tak [Like This] media outlet has reported how the authorities of the Russian regions are spending budget funds to erect monuments to the "heroes of the special military operation."