Mobilization in Russia for Dec. 23-24, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary
Authorities and Legislation
The Ministry of Finance has declined to endorse a proposed 2% subsidized mortgage program for participants in the war against Ukraine. Members of the State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] who introduced the bill estimated that it would affect around 700,000 people and generate over 1 trillion rubles [$10 billion] by boosting the construction sector. Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov noted in his review that the proposal demands extra funds from the federal budget without identifying sources. He also stated that existing subsidized mortgage programs have created significant imbalances in the mortgage lending market while failing to improve housing affordability for Russian citizens. In April 2024, Vladimir Putin instructed officials to launch a 2% subsidized mortgage program for combat veterans from the Belgorod region and from occupied territories in Ukraine.
Minister of Emergency Situations Alexander Kurenkov announced that authorities will use intercoms to warn Russians about missile attacks, integrating this method into existing alert systems that rely on telecommunications networks, radio and television. Kurenkov claimed that officials are already using intercoms to deliver strike warnings in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions and have tested intercom connections in the Lipetsk and Vladimir regions, as well as in Saint Petersburg. He also noted that the primary methods of alerting the public remain SMS notifications, loudspeakers, and vehicles equipped with screens. However, the Belgorod-based Pepel [Ashes] Telegram channel has contradicted Kurenkov’s statements, reporting that no intercom-based warning system exists in the region despite his assertions.
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
A court granted the request of the head of a local recruitment center to send to war Krasnodar resident Aleksandr Steshuk, who is serving an 18-year sentence for double murder, robbery, theft and arson. In September 2021, Steshuk killed two elderly neighbors, stole 140,000 rubles [$1,380] and set their home on fire with the victims' bodies still inside. The prosecutor's office did not object to his release, and courtroom officials immediately handed him over to a military representative.
Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers
Aleksandr Vinshu, an 18-year-old student from the Krasnoyarsk region, born in December of 2005, has been killed in the war. According to obituaries, Vinshu was killed on Nov. 28 during an assault on a Ukrainian strongpoint. His relatives confirmed his death in a conversation with the Sibir.Realii [media outlet, part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]. In April 2024, after Konstantin Dizendorf, head of the Taseyevsky district, met with a group of 50 students to gauge their willingness to serve in the military, three of them, including Vinshu, signed contracts with the Ministry of Defense. Vinshu justified his decision by citing a lack of employment opportunities in his home village. Dizendorf personally saw the student off and promised to ask the military to not dispatch him to the frontline right away. According to a source cited by Sibir.Realii, Vinshu spent four months in the war and was in training until August.
Wounded service members from the 503rd Motorized Rifle Regiment have reported being held under military police guard in their unit.
Wave of Arson and Firework Explosions
On Dec. 24, a woman set off a firework inside a VTB Bank branch in Nevinnomyssk, according to the town’s mayor Mikhail Minenkov. The arsonist was detained. The regional Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that the 68-year-old retiree claimed she had been forced to commit the arson by an unknown telephone scammer. No one was injured and the firework did not cause a fire at the bank branch.
In Moscow, a man threw a Molotov cocktail at a police vehicle. According to the Baza Telegram channel, the incident occurred at the Arbat Internal Affairs Department building. A 65-year-old man was detained, who, according to preliminary reports, had fallen victim to telephone scammers. He now faces charges of committing an act of terror. The Kremlin-aligned news outlet Mash named the suspect and published the security camera footage showing that he changed into a police uniform before committing the act.
At the Megapolis shopping center in Yekaterinburg, a young man attempted to set fire to an ATM. He approached the terminals while speaking on the phone, placed a bag on the floor and began rummaging through it. Two visitors noticed his suspicious behavior and quickly restrained him. The bag carried by the 19-year-old resident of Chelyabinsk contained a box of fireworks. Witnesses reported that he was handed over to law enforcement officers.
On Dec. 23, a 50-year-old woman set off fireworks inside a bank branch in Vladivostok and then left the scene in a taxi. She was quickly apprehended by traffic police. A criminal case for deliberate destruction or damage of property has been opened against her. The woman claims she was scammed by individuals who stole 2.5 million rubles [$24,700] from her. The scammers, allegedly posing as employees of Rosfinmonitoring [the Federal Financial Monitoring Service of the Russian Federation], convinced her to ignite the fireworks as part of a purported operation to detain bank employees.
In Kimovsk, Tula region, a 68-year-old woman set off firecrackers inside a bank office. No injuries were reported. The woman, who was detained, told police that she was a victim of fraud.
On Dec. 24, an elderly woman set off fireworks in an ATM hall inside a shopping center in Serpukhov. The resulting smoke prompted the evacuation of visitors from the building. After her detention, the 77-year-old woman claimed that unknown individuals had persuaded her over the phone to ignite the fireworks, promising it would "protect her money."
On the morning of Dec. 16 in Salsk, Rostov region, a man threw three Molotov cocktails at a youth center. The fire was promptly extinguished by a caretaker, and no casualties or damage were reported. The arsonist, Anatoly Batsunov, was detained and placed in pre-trial detention for two months. He faces charges of deliberate destruction or damage of property committed with hooligan motives.
In Arkhangelsk, an office of United Russia [Putin’s ruling party] burned down after a bottle with a flammable liquid was thrown into the premises. The incident also destroyed part of the "humanitarian aid" that the party was preparing to send to the frontline. No injuries were reported.
In the Vladimir region, law enforcement officers have detained four people on charges of committing a series of vehicle arsons. A criminal case for treason and organizing terrorist acts has been initiated against the organizer, a 30-year-old Russian citizen residing in Ukraine, who has also been declared wanted in Russia.
The man who set fire to an ATM on Mira Street in Perm has been identified as an 18-year-old student. According to police, both he and the arsonist of the ATM on Lenin Street sustained burns of varying degrees. Both detainees reportedly carried out the arson attacks under the instructions of fraudsters who contacted them via messaging apps.
Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] has updated its tally of arson attacks carried out under the influence of phone scammers. Since Dec. 13, Russians have attacked banks, police cars and other targets on at least 50 occasions, a new record, according to Mediazona. The majority of the attacks occurred on Dec. 20 and Dec. 21. At least six individuals detained in connection with the ongoing wave of arson attacks have been charged with terrorism, while eleven have been charged with deliberate property destruction. Meanwhile, the Bumaga [Paper] independent media outlet has published an article profiling the suspects in the arson cases in Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad region.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
A surgeon driving a VAZ car collided with an armored personnel carrier carrying Russian soldiers in the Belgorod region. According to the Astra Telegram channel, the accident occurred near the village of Khokhlovo on Dec. 23. As a result of the crash, the passenger of the VAZ died, and the surgeon was hospitalized.
In the Kemerovo region, 26-year-old soldier Vladimir Moksheev of the 15th Motorized Rifle Brigade has been detained and is facing criminal charges for murder. On Dec. 22, Moksheev stabbed his drinking companion, who died at the scene. Moksheev confessed to the murder and wrote a letter of confession. He had previously been convicted for intentional bodily harm, death threats and sexual intercourse with a child. After being injured on the frontline, Moksheev returned home in September 2024, according to Astra. Upon his return, his relatives filed at least three complaints with the police about his behavior. On one occasion, Moksheev set a house on fire. He is currently in detention.
In Saint Petersburg, 26-year-old Igor Mosienko, a former Wagner Group mercenary, was detained on suspicion of murdering a woman. Mosienko enlisted in the war from a penal colony in September 2022, where he had been serving a seven-year sentence for beating a person to death. After completing his service, he was granted a presidential pardon.
A photo of a wanted notice for deserter Anton Zhivlov, a private from the town of Aleksandrov in the Vladimir region, is circulating on social media. The post claims that Zhivlov allegedly fled the war with a weapon and opened fire.
Mobilized soldier Vladimir G. has been sentenced to five years and one month in a penal colony for going AWOL. Until the summer of 2023, he participated in combat, after which he went to his family in the Arkhangelsk region to care for his sick parents and wife. In April 2024, he was detained by military police. In court, the mobilized man fully pleaded guilty but did not express a desire to return to the combat zone.
A 51-year-old former law enforcement officer from Moscow has been sentenced to 16 years in prison and stripped of his titles for treason and sabotage. Reports suggest that the man allegedly carried out a sabotage operation in April 2023 at a transportation infrastructure site in the Chelyabinsk region. According to prosecutors, the former officer "joined a terrorist organization created and coordinated by the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense (GUR) and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU)."
Andrey Gilishev, a 33-year-old doctor from Tyumen, has been sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment for anti-war graffiti and the intention to join the Freedom of Russia Legion. Prosecutors had requested an 18-year sentence. Gilishev was found guilty of politically motivated vandalism and participating in the activities of a terrorist organization. According to investigators, from December 2023 to February 2024, Gilishev allegedly engaged in activities for the Freedom of Russia Legion. He allegedly filled out an application form on the Legion's website, after which someone named Pavel contacted him and asked him to paint the white-blue-white flag on a stele at the entrance to Tyumen and the phrase "The Russian Orthodox Church for murderers" on a church fence. Gilishev completed only the latter graffiti before being detained. He maintains that he submitted the form on a fake Freedom of Russia Legion website. Previously, Gilishev reported being tortured by officers from the General Directorate for Countering Extremism of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, known as "Center E." Law enforcement officers used electric shocks to force him to give the desired testimony.
Pavel Levchenko, a resident of the Rostov region, has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for sabotaging railway tracks in Crimea. Levchenko was convicted under charges of treason and committing an act of terror. Levchenko allegedly met a Ukrainian intelligence officer in the city of Zaporizhzhia and "agreed to confidential cooperation," as well as to "undergo training in methods for committing terrorist acts and manufacturing improvised explosive devices." He later arrived in Crimea, where he received IEDs through hidden caches and personally assembled them. In June 2023, Levchenko detonated railway tracks twice while freight trains were passing over them. He was detained shortly after the attacks.
Assistance
The Stavropol administration has increased the number of gifts purchased for the families of killed soldiers by 1.5 times over the past year. In 2023, support measures benefited 210 families, while in 2024, the number grew to 350.
In Saratov, a rehabilitation center for veterans of the war in Ukraine is set to open in 2025.
Starting Jan. 1, 2025, families of war participants from Udmurtia [Russia's constituent republic] will have priority access to rent strollers and cribs for newborns.
State institutions of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Region–Yugra will introduce quotas for participants in the invasion of Ukraine. Additionally, the region's governor Ruslan Kukharuk announced the recruitment of war veterans into the "Heroes of Yugra" program. This initiative aims to train participants as managers, with graduates offered positions in the regional government upon completion.
Children
Vazhnyye Istorii [IStories, independent Russian investigative media outlet] has uncovered the tragic suicide of 18-year-old Oleksandr Yakushchenko, who was forcibly deported from Ukraine to Russia. His body was found several kilometers away from his new home. The foster father, Aleksandr Lukashenko, denies responsibility for the teenager's death. Before the war, Yakushchenko lived in a family-type orphanage in the village of Tokarivka near Kherson. In collaboration with the Reckoning Project, Vazhnyye Istorii identified seven other children, including Oleksandr’s biological sister, who were deported from the Kherson region with him. These children remain in Russia.
In Nizhny Novgorod, a schoolboy was injured by a grenade explosion during a lesson on "Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Motherland."
The Perm 36.6 Telegram channel reports about a complaint filed with the Prosecutor's Office against Perm schools, which in the fall of 2024 published advertisements for contract military service in their official groups at the same time. According to activists, such actions violate the Constitution and several laws.
Miscellaneous
A UAV research and production complex will be created in Kazan on the basis of the Kazan National Research Technical University. A total of 2.5 billion rubles [$24.72 million] from national and regional funds will be allocated for this project.
Nikita Gorelov, a mobilized soldier who was elected head of the Sosnovka town administration in the Kirov region, has managed to keep his post. Earlier he had been ordered to return to the frontline. He attributed this to his anti-corruption activities. On Dec. 24, after a gathering of town’s residents called by Gorelov, his sister confirmed that he would remain head of the town.