Mobilization in Russia for Dec. 14-16, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

Vladimir Putin signed legislation extending the requirement for Russian men of conscription age to notify draft offices of any move exceeding three months, regardless of the time of year. The law removes the phrase "during the conscription period" from Article 21.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which governs "failure by citizens to perform military registration duties." The relevant penalty—a fine of 10,000 to 20,000 rubles [$125-$250]—previously applied only during the regular spring and autumn conscription campaigns. That limitation, however, will cease to exist next year following the enactment of legislation establishing year-round conscription activities.

Vladimir Putin also signed a law authorizing the seizure of "ownerless" housing in the occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. The measure enables occupation administrations to classify property as ownerless if they cannot identify the owner or if the owner lacks valid documents proving ownership. Authorities may take possession of the assets; while the law promises compensation if an owner comes forward after the seizure, it applies only to Russian citizens. Officials may transfer the confiscated homes to local residents who lost their housing because of the war or offer the properties for rent. Moreover, the law permits occupation administrations to house their officials and employees, along with staff from subordinate institutions, such as schools and hospitals, in these properties until 2028.

Lawmakers in the State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] passed amendments to the Criminal Code in both the second and third readings that tighten penalties for desertion, going AWOL, and evading service on the pretext of illness for convicts, defendants, and suspects who have signed contracts with the Ministry of Defense to take part in the war, as well as for those whose cases were suspended at the request of military command. The relevant articles will be supplemented with special provisions under which leaving a unit for between two and 10 days would carry a penalty of up to six years in prison, between 10 days and one month up to eight years, and desertion up to 20 years.

A bill has been introduced in the State Duma that would allow payments for the death of a serviceman to be transferred to a broader circle of heirs if the deceased has no recipients among those specified by law or if they have refused the funds. Currently, families are entitled to several types of payments totaling 13.5 million rubles [$170,000], with these payments set to be indexed in 2026. However, if a deceased serviceman has no spouse, parents, or minor children, these funds often become the subject of prolonged disputes.

The new bill introduces a fallback procedure under which the insurance payout and the lump-sum benefit, amounting to about 8.5 million rubles [$107,000], would be paid to heirs, such as adult children or siblings, in equal shares according to the order established by the Civil Code. These funds would not be considered part of the estate. If adopted, the new procedure is planned to apply to all cases of servicemen’s deaths starting from Feb. 24, 2022.

The MoD has drafted a decree granting combat veteran status to individuals who, between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 1, 2023, entered into "agreements" or had "other legal relations" with the MoD and carried out tasks on the frontline as part of "special units" within military formations. This likely refers to fighters from Storm-Z units and other similar formations. Earlier, Putin signed the corresponding law (1, 2).

Army Recruitment

In Moscow, beginning on Dec. 12, draft offices began sending draft notices through the digital Draft Register instead of the mos.ru portal [official web portal of the Moscow government], as was done previously. Thus, an issued draft notice will now automatically impose restrictions, including a ban on leaving the country, as well as fines for failure to report to a draft office. Additionally, conscripts have lost the ability to challenge the legality of draft notices through the mos.ru web portal.

In Tomsk, two activists from the Drugaya Rossiya party [the Other Russia of E. V. Limonov, an unregistered National Bolshevik political party in Russia] were detained at a protest against the blocking of Roblox. One of the detainees, Aleksandr Yershov, was pressured by police to enlist in the war. According to the activist, during the detention, the police in a rude manner attempted to persuade him to sign a contract with the MoD, threatening to forcibly deploy him to war if he refused. However, the police later released him without filing a protocol.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

Aleksey Koshelev, a military police officer who in January 2025 was reported beating contract soldiers from the Russia's constituent Republic of Tyva with a baton and a stun gun, has been sentenced to three and a half years in a penal colony for exceeding authority with the use of violence. No information was provided regarding the verdict for the second soldier involved in the beatings. The incident was filmed and gained public attention when the footage was published. In the video, Koshelev brutally beats members of an assault unit who were recently injured. He demands that they undress and threatens them with sexual violence. As a result, the victims were hospitalized in serious condition, including one person who suffered a spinal fracture. Koshelev stated that he had attempted to stop a brawl caused by drunk soldiers, but one of the servicemen provoked him with his behavior, which led to the beating. When handing down the sentence, the court considered the defendant's admission of guilt, participation in the "special military operation," injuries sustained, and awards received, as well as the presence of a minor child.

A court in the Bryansk region has increased the imprisonment sentence of former city council deputy from United Russia [Putin’s ruling party] Vladimir Reuk to 10 years in a penal colony. Reuk was tried under articles on fraud and attempted large-scale fraud for taking money from war participants, promising assistance with returning from the frontline, exemption from service, obtaining payments, and receiving state awards, while having no real ability to influence these decisions. In July, he had already been sentenced to eight years in a penal colony for similar crimes committed in 2023–2024. At that time, he managed to steal about 4.8 million rubles [$60,400] from military personnel. After the beginning of the war, Reuk was involved in delivering aid to the military; in 2023, he was awarded the Medal of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland," and in June 2024, he was detained and sent to a pre-trial detention center.

The Federal Security Service (FSB) reported the detention of ten people in five regions: Komi [Russia's constituent republic], the Astrakhan, Vologda, Volgograd and Krasnodar regions. According to the agency, acting on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence services, the detainees set fire to service vehicles of law enforcement officers and interfered with the operation of energy and transport facilities. The FSB claims that all of them had previously become victims of phone scammers, took out loans, and transferred between 300,000 [$3,800] and 1.6 million rubles [$20,100] to "secure accounts," after which unknown individuals contacted them via Telegram, presenting themselves as Russian law enforcement officers, and under the threat of criminal liability for "financing the Armed Forces of Ukraine" and "treason," coerced them into illegal activities. Criminal cases have been initiated against the detainees under articles on an attempted act of terror, a terrorist attack, attempted sabotage and sabotage.

A 16-year-old teenager from the occupied city of Mariupol has been detained in a case involving an act of terror. His name has not been disclosed. According to investigators, the teenager was looking for part-time work in Telegram chats, after which an unknown person offered him to take photos and then set fire to a cell tower. He was promised 20,000 rubles [$250] for the arson, but was ultimately paid only 17,000 rubles [$210]. The minor recorded his actions on camera and later sent the footage via Telegram to his handlers.

Four teenagers from the Lipetsk region have been charged with preparing an act of sabotage. According to investigators, someone acting "in the interests of Ukrainian intelligence services" contacted the minors, aged 14-17, via Telegram and offered them money to blow up a section of the Druzhba oil pipeline in the Lipetsk region. The teenagers allegedly retrieved an explosive device from a hiding place but were detained en route. The FSB claims that the suspects had already set fire to infrastructure facilities before.

The Orenburg regional court sentenced a local resident to 13 years in prison for sabotage and preparation for it. According to law enforcement officers, in April 2025, the young man, at the direction of an unknown person and for a reward, set fire to a battery cabinet on the railway. The suspect also "conducted reconnaissance of the area" near the base stations of an unnamed mobile operator, which he was also supposed to "destroy." According to local media, the convicted man is 21 years old. The FSB reported his arrest in September. The Orenburg resident's name is not being released.

The case of two teenagers, aged 16 and 17, who were arrested this summer on charges of setting fire to a forest in the Zabaykalsky region, has been transferred to a military court. They were charged with committing a terrorist act by a group of persons in preliminary conspiracy, and the 16-year-old is also accused of aiding terrorist activities. Both teenagers are in pre-trial detention. According to investigators, in June 2025, one of the teenagers began corresponding on Telegram with an unknown individual, likely located in Ukraine. This person offered the young man a reward of 95,000 to 160,000 rubles [$1,200 to $2,010] to set fire to a forest. The teenager told his friend about the offer, and the friend joined him. Together they went to a forest near Atamanovka and set fire to dry grass and pine needles. They allegedly filmed their actions on a phone and sent the video to their "handler," but they never received the money.

The Leningrad Regional Court is hearing behind closed doors the criminal case against 40-year-old Ukrainian citizen Vasily Kashperuk, who has been under arrest since November 2023 on charges of espionage, sabotage, preparation for sabotage, aiding sabotage activities and illegal storage and transportation of explosives. The case includes 14 counts, 12 of which are related to sabotage, though the specific allegations have not been publicly disclosed. The case was transferred to the court in June 2025, with a preliminary hearing held on July 2, after which sessions began to be postponed for unknown reasons. Kashperuk was born in Pavlohrad in the Dnipropetrovsk region and had been living in Saint Petersburg since the early 2010s.

A treason case has been opened against 37-year-old serviceman Yury Izmailov from Novosibirsk, who had served in Chechnya [Russia's constituent republic] and Syria. The FSB detained him in August 2024. Initially, he faced only charges with participation in a terrorist organization as he did not support Russia's invasion of Ukraine and allegedly intended to join the Russian Volunteer Corps. Law enforcement officers slammed his head against the floor twice during detention, causing him to have an epileptic seizure. After searches, Izmailov and his wife were interrogated for over 24 hours. During this time, Izmailov lost consciousness several times. His wife was later released, while the Novosibirsk resident was sent to a pre-trial detention center. The new case was allegedly opened due to Izmailov's correspondence with a person whom Russian law enforcement officers identify as a Ukrainian serviceman who asked him to mark "certain urban facilities" on a map.

The Southern District Military Court has sentenced 65-year-old English teacher Valentyna Zaiarnaia from occupied Amvrosiivka to 12 years in prison on charges with participation in a terrorist organization, attempted storage of explosives, and preparation of an act of terror. The prosecutor had sought a 20-year sentence for the woman. The second defendant in the case, Lieutenant Colonel of Ukraine's border service Denys Storozhuk, received 22 years in a maximum security facility in absentia—he had returned to Ukraine in a prisoner exchange in the fall of 2024. According to prosecutors, Zaiarnaia and Storozhuk surveilled a deputy from the "DPR," Yaroslav Anika, and planned to blow up his car. Ukrainian intelligence services sent Storozhuk a package containing explosives and a fake passport, and Zaiarnaia, at his request, picked it up at the designated location. Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] previously detailed Zaiarnaia's story: in the summer of 2022, she took in an acquaintance who claimed his home had burned down during the fighting for Mariupol. In reality, Storozhuk had not surrendered along with other defenders of the Azovstal Steel Factory but had hidden in underground tunnels for another three weeks before escaping the city. He lived with the woman for about a year before asking her to travel to Donetsk to retrieve a package. According to the FSB, it contained explosives and a fake passport. Zaiarnaia was detained, assaulted until she lost consciousness, and, under threat of weapons, forced to sign a confession, after which she attempted suicide.

The FSB has detained a 31-year-old woman from the Belgorod region on charges of high treason. According to the security service, in December 2023, the woman "on her own initiative" contacted Ukrainian intelligence services. Investigators allege that she later sent representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) geographic coordinates along with photographs taken on her phone, indicating the location of a unit of the Russian Armed Forces.

Children and Militarization

A court in Kazakhstan has ordered the deportation of 16-year-old school student Timur Turkov from Komi [Russia’s constituent republic], who fled the country and sought political asylum. The teenager was also fined and banned from entering Kazakhstan for five years. Turkov said he decided to leave Russia in the summer of 2025 after completing ninth grade because high-school students at his school were being involved in funerals of killed soldiers, and the war had become part of everyday school life. According to him, in his village of about 2,500 residents, 11 or 12 men had been killed and another five were listed as missing in action. The teenager said he fears returning to Russia due to aggressive propaganda, widespread violence and the country’s political course.

Longreads

The Vyorstka media outlet published the story of 30-year-old Belgorod regional official Viktoria Shinkaruk, who was sentenced to 21 years in a penal colony on charges of preparing a terrorist attack. According to the case materials, she withdrew 100,000 rubles [$1,260] from a bank card at the request of her ex-husband and left the money in a trash container.