Mobilization in Russia for Dec. 15-17, 2023 CIT Volunteer Summary
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
Raids to force naturalized migrants to register for military service continue across Russia. This time, the raids took place in the Zabaykalsky region [Russia's federal subject], where military investigators served draft notices to 56 migrants. Across the Russian Far East, a total of 450 migrants were forced to register for military service.
Authorities and Relatives of Mobilized Soldiers
The Zhenskiytil [Women’s Home Front] Telegram channel, which positions itself as an association of mobilized soldiers’ female relatives, is calling on its members to write to governors and heads of administrations asking them to hold back on year-end celebrations.
Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers
The list of mobilized soldiers killed in the war has been updated to include Nikolay Yuganets from the Pskov region, Roman Rudakov from the Rostov region, Yevgeny Issaev from the Samara region, and Aleksandr Brundaev from the Tambov region.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
According to the ASTRA Telegram channel, on Dec. 13, in Oleshky, in the occupied part of the Kherson region, a Russian soldier executed a 70-year-old local resident. According to the detained serviceman from the 24th Motorized Rifle Regiment, R. Zhukov from Tula, he shot the woman in self-defense. Zhukov claimed that on Dec. 12, while he was "checking" her house, the elderly woman allegedly ran towards him with a grenade in her hand, after which he shot her with an AK-12 and fled. Zhukov was handed over to the unit commander. No criminal case has been initiated.
ASTRA has also reported an incident involving an ex-convict who was pardoned for participating in the war with Ukraine. On Dec. 15, Eduard Kochnev, who has a previous criminal record for murder, theft and robbery, entered a police station in Perm with grenades in his hands. In front of the police officers, he pulled out the pin of one of the grenades. During the half-hour negotiations, one of the grenades detonated in his pocket. It was later discovered that they were airsoft grenades. Kochnev was detained. It is known that in May, he went to war with Ukraine and returned after six months, presumably receiving a pardon on Nov. 13, 2023.
A criminal case has been initiated against Mikhail Rotaru, a contract soldier from the Vladimir region, for going AWOL for over a month. According to Dovod [independent Russian media outlet], a court had already issued a verdict against Rotaru in a similar case in August. The man was sentenced to one and a half years’ probation for failing to report for duty due to his wife's illness.
Additionally, a criminal case has been initiated against an 18-year-old resident of Arkhangelsk for intended treason. He was detained in September 2023 when he attempted to enter the territory of the military town of the 332nd Radio-Technical Regiment, where he planned to set fire to military vehicles. At that time, a case of attempted act of terror was opened against him. It is worth noting that he allegedly received the task from the "Freedom of Russia Legion." According to the detainee, he agreed to set fire to the military unit for free due to his anti-war stance. His current whereabouts and whether he has a lawyer are unknown.
Assistance
During the Direct Line phone-in with Putin, a soldier from the Omsk region complained about the lack of equipment. Two days later, the governor of the Omsk region reported that a portable electronic warfare system had been delivered to the unit of the serviceman.
Olga Lesnova, a member of the Khanty-Mansi autonomous region’s Duma [regional legislative body], plans to hold a series of training sessions titled "Woman. The Path to Herself." Lesnova aims to teach the wives of war participants how to overcome feelings of resentment, depression, and rejection, and "to show that a woman, too, can be of service."
Children and Educational System
Authorities in the Vladimir region have ordered schools to show the propaganda film "Za nami Zavtra" [Tomorrow Belongs to Us], which tells the story of the war in Ukraine from 2014 to the present. It will be shown in educational institutions throughout the Vladimir region during the "lessons of courage" and "Talking About Important Things" classes, as well as at regional and municipal events.
Children from a kindergarten were involved in weaving camouflage nets in the Irkutsk region.
Miscellaneous
According to Oleg Korobchenko, the Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian constituent republic of Tatarstan, the defense enterprises of the republic have secured orders for the next three years. Since the beginning of the invasion, the production volume of military-industrial complex enterprises has increased 2-5 times. To meet these targets, all enterprises are operating around the clock, with many employees working 12-hour shifts. Authorities also plan to increase the population of Naberezhnye Chelny by at least 200,000 people to boost the production of KAMAZ trucks. Analysts estimate that the military-industrial complex and related industries currently account for approximately 50% of the growth in industrial production in Russia.