Mobilization in Russia for Dec. 20-22, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

Volunteers from the Memorial Human Rights Defense Center surveyed residents of Chechnya [Russia’s constituent republic] and concluded that the authorities have launched a sweeping campaign of unlawful detentions, apparently intended to find people to send to the war against Ukraine. Memorial reports that this wave of abductions and arrests began in October and November, following a series of statements from Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov urging local residents to join the war. On Dec. 9, Kadyrov announced the formation of a new 2,500-strong regiment in the republic and threatened to forcibly send young people who commit administrative offenses or lead what he called a "festive and immoral" lifestyle to the front. Respondents told Memorial that each police unit received orders to recruit 25 to 50 "volunteer fighters" for deployment; officers conduct mass checks at checkpoints, detain citizens over minor suspicions, deliver them to police stations and pressure them to sign contracts.

Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers

Krym.Realii [media outlet part of RFE/RL] has identified the names of 11 conscripts from Crimea killed in the war against Ukraine. The list includes crew members of the cruiser Moskva and the landing ship Novocherkassk, as well as those killed in a missile strike on the airfield in the village of Oktiabrske.

The Provereno Media [Verified Media] project has confirmed that reports of the death in the war of one of the last members of the small indigenous group from Chukotka [Russia's easternmost federal subject], the Kereks, are false. Earlier, it was claimed that a 55-year-old serviceman of the 810th Naval Infantry Brigade, Ivan Taymagyr, allegedly was killed in the Kursk region on Sept. 13. Taymagyr is said to be one of the last representatives of the Kerek people. The Lyudi Baikala [People of Baikal] independent media outlet cast doubt on this information, and now Provereno Media journalists have determined that the photograph on Taymagyr’s gravestone actually belongs to Bair Chinavlev. Chinavlev was mobilized from Buryatia [Russia's constituent republic] in September 2022 and killed in the Donetsk region in November 2024. Based on the investigation, the team concluded that Ivan Taymagyr’s death has not been reliably confirmed.

Outbreak of Arsons and Fireworks Incidents

On Dec. 21, visitors to two shopping centers in Moscow and the Moscow region detonated fireworks inside the buildings. The first incident occurred during the day at the Fort shopping center in the Otradnoye district, where a 70-year-old woman set off a firecracker inside a Multifunctional Public Services Center (MFC). As claimed by the Kremlin-aligned news outlet Mash, after detention the woman stated that she acted on the instructions of "Ukrainian scammers" to whom she had previously transferred 120,000 rubles [$1,160]. Another firecracker explosion took place at an MFC branch in the Helios shopping center in the city of Korolyov. No injuries have been reported. The perpetrator in this incident was also acting under the instructions of "Ukrainian scammers" and was subsequently detained. While in the police station, the 63-year-old man reportedly attempted to detonate another firecracker.

Later, reports emerged about fireworks being set off inside a post office in the city of Khimki. Footage recorded from outside the building shows fireworks exploding inside, followed by frightened customers rushing out. Preliminary reports indicate that no one was injured. A few hours later, a suspect—a 70-year-old woman—was detained and taken into police custody.

TASS [Russian state-owned news agency], citing law enforcement agencies, has reported that over the course of Dec. 21 in Moscow and the Moscow region, "more than 10 arson attacks and explosions of pyrotechnic devices have been carried out on the instructions of scammers."

On the evening of Dec. 21, an explosion occurred at a branch of Sberbank [Russia's largest bank] in Saint Petersburg destroying the entrance door and severely damaging several ATMs. Footage from a surveillance camera at the scene documented a woman pouring flammable liquid on the ATMs and igniting them using a match, while recording the incident on her phone. No injuries were reported, and the arsonist was able to flee the scene. However, she was later detained in her apartment near the bank branch and identified as a 68-year-old woman. A criminal case has been initiated against her for an act of terror. Another arson attack took place in the Kolpino district of Saint Petersburg on the same evening, where a Sberbank ATM was destroyed by fire. According to Fontanka [pro-Russian media outlet of the Leningrad region], the arsonist was detained and identified as a 70-year-old man, who, under questioning, confessed to involvement in two arsons and an attempted arson. It is suspected that the elderly man may have been acting on the instructions of criminals. A criminal case has been initiated against him.

In the early hours of Dec. 21, two elderly women attempted to set fire to a border protection vehicle on the premises of a police station in the Vyborgsky district of Saint Petersburg. The vehicle was not seriously damaged, and the arsonists were later detained and charged with an act of terror. The police claim that the women were acting on the instructions of criminals.

In the early hours of Dec. 21, a 31-year-old man threw Molotov cocktails at a Russian Post branch in the town of Vsevolozhsk, Leningrad region. The building was reportedly not seriously damaged. The man was detained at the scene by a witness and later charged with an act of terror.

The independent media outlets Bumaga [Paper] and Fontanka have compiled all known information about recent arson attacks in Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad region over the past week. According to the preliminary results, at least 14 people, eight of them minors, have been detained, and at least three criminal cases of acts of terror have been initiated. Against this backdrop, Saint Petersburg authorities announced the intensification of "anti-terrorist measures" in the city. According to Governor Alexander Beglov, "the situation is under control."

In Novosibirsk, ATMs at a Sberbank branch in Akademgorodok were set on fire in the early hours of Dec. 21. No injuries were reported. Another arson attempt took place at a bank branch in Anapa. There, a local resident managed to douse ATMs in an Alfa-Bank branch with gasoline before being stopped by witnesses. Before the attempt, she set off fireworks in a park in front of a police station. Throughout the incident, she was talking on the phone with unknown individuals.

Additionally, a railroad snow removal vehicle was reportedly set on fire in the Tyumen region. According to the Baza, the incident occurred on the evening of Dec. 21 at the Russian Railways [Russian fully state-owned railway company] facility on the outskirts of Tobolsk. Allegedly, one of the three arsonists was a minor.

In Yekaterinburg, unidentified individuals set fire to a police vehicle on Sunday. In the early hours of Dec. 22, two people tossed a Molotov cocktail at a police SUV parked outside a repair shop. According to the SHOT Telegram channel, close to law enforcement sources, the vehicle sustained only bumper damage. However, the Yekaterinburg E1.RU media outlet, citing its source, reported that the fire completely destroyed the hood and engine compartment of the vehicle. The attackers fled the scene. Preliminary reports suggest that the arsonists acted under instructions of scammers.

An English teacher tossed a Molotov cocktail at a police station in the town of Petushki, Vladimir region. The building was not damaged, and the woman was detained. According to the teacher, she was coerced into committing the arson by scammers who had previously defrauded her of 1.5 million rubles [$14,500]. Law enforcement officers have opened a criminal case against her on charges of arson.

A Saint Petersburg teenager, Arina Badyina, who was detained on Dec. 20 after setting fire to a police car, has been charged with an act of terror. The young woman has been placed under house arrest for two months, though formal charges have not yet been filed. According to case materials, Badyina carried out the arson believing she was acting on orders from Russian intelligence services.

A video has been released showing a young woman setting fire to an ATM in Krasnoyarsk. The arsonist, a 19-year-old student at a teachers' college, was sent to a hospital with second-degree burns. According to preliminary reports, she may have been a victim of fraud.

Sberbank has reported that the number of arson attacks on administrative buildings and banks in Russia has increased by 30% over the past week, with incidents "carried out under the influence of phone scammers." In response, the company has strengthened security measures at its facilities.

According to their tally, Fontanka reports that 18 attempted arsons and uses of pyrotechnics were recorded across Russia on Dec. 20-21. Meanwhile, Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] reports that between Dec. 13 and 22, Russians committed 34 arsons under the influence of phone scammers. This marks the second-largest wave of such attacks since the war began. The previous surge occurred between July 29 and Aug. 3, 2023, when 37 similar incidents were recorded.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

In the Belgorod region, a car crashed into an unmarked anti-tank barrier that military personnel had installed in the middle of the night. The driver was hospitalized.

In the Chelyabinsk region, a contract soldier has been sentenced to four years in a penal colony for inflicting grievous bodily harm. During a conflict on Oct. 16, the serviceman stabbed his fellow soldier multiple times.

Shota Saghkaev, a contract soldier from Vladikavkaz, has been sentenced to five years and three months in a penal colony for going AWOL. In June 2022, the soldier filed a report requesting the termination of his service due to the expiration of his five-year contract, which ended on Sept. 2, several weeks before the mobilization was announced. Saghkaev claims that his commander signed the document and all necessary financial settlements were completed. However, the unit's command stated that the soldier was undergoing treatment in a hospital in September, meaning he retained his status as a serviceman, and no orders for his discharge or removal from the unit's rolls were issued. The defense disputes this argument—according to a response from the hospital’s director, no such patient was registered. Nevertheless, the serviceman was found to be unlawfully absent from the unit.

A resident of Orenburg has been sentenced to 19 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of treason and unlawful impact on Russia's critical infrastructure. According to the Federal Security Service (FSB), the man transferred personal data of Russian soldiers to FBI agents. The authorities did not disclose the name of the convicted individual. However, the FSB's statement noted that he was born in 1993 and was detained in January 2023.

In Moscow, a 24-year-old student of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN), Arbi Dukayev, has been detained. He is accused of recruiting acquaintances for a terrorist organization, though the specific organization remains unknown. Mediazona reported that the student was detained on Nov. 21. On the same day, he was charged, and the court placed him in a pre-trial detention center. The defense sought to appeal this decision, citing the health condition of Dukayev's father, the student's awards and his "aid to participants in the special military operation." Despite this, the court ordered that he remain in the pre-trial detention center until Jan. 21.

Assistance

The Vladimir Regional Library reported purchasing food supplies for participants in the war with Ukraine as part of the New Year's Gift for a Defender of the Fatherland campaign.

In Proletarsk, Rostov region, looted food parcels intended for Russian soldiers participating in the invasion of Ukraine were discovered. The parcels had been collected by schools and educational institutions in the Peschanokopsky district. The district administration confirmed that the parcels were assembled within the municipality, but officials stated that transporting them was beyond their responsibility.

Miscellaneous

Nikita Gorelov, a mobilized participant in the war and the recently elected head of the Sosnovka town administration in the Kirov region, has been ordered to return to the frontline. Gorelov, who was demobilized after winning the election on Oct. 10, claims the order is an act of retaliation for his investigation into corruption. According to Gorelov, he possesses "materials for several criminal cases" involving corruption that local officials and town council members "have not managed to destroy." Allegedly, the cases involve embezzlement related to the construction of a house. Gorelov announced plans for a townwide meeting and stated he would file a lawsuit to retain his post. Residents of Sosnovka have launched a petition in his support, which has gathered 1,500 signatures in two days.

Longreads

The ROMB media outlet shares the stories of three women suing the fathers of their sons, who were killed in the war with Ukraine, over death gratuity payments. The women claim that the fathers had not been involved in their children’s lives after the divorces.