Mobilization in Russia for December 28–29, CIT volunteer summary

Russia's Ministry of Defense has developed and published a draft presidential decree on the creation of field detention facilities. If such a decree is signed, the Armed Forces will have a legitimate mechanism to punish service members who have committed crimes. Such soldiers can be isolated in special facilities, which, according to the draft, should not be any different than for the rest of servicemen. The draft decree prohibits equipping such facilities in basements without windows and proper ventilation, dungeons, tanks, or pits, "except in cases that are necessary to protect the lives of military personnel."

"The special operation and mobilization concern everyone, every region and every locality, and we need help and support from senators and State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] members," Sergei Shoygu said at the first meeting of a working group created on Dec. 20, 2022 on interaction between public authorities and organizations with regard to training and mobilization, as well as social and legal guarantees for Russian citizens participating in the "special military operation". The coordination group included representatives of both chambers of the Federal Assembly [Russia's parliament] and all parliamentary parties, the Ministry of Defense, leaders of public organizations, and war correspondents. The working group was headed by Vice-Speaker of the Federation Council [the upper house of the Federal Assembly] Andrey Turchak.

Chair of the Federation Council Committee on constitutional legislation and state construction Senator Andrey Klishas stated that proposals to seize the property of emigrated Russians for military needs are unconstitutional.

Ramzan Kadyrov held a video conference today. The head of the Chechen Republic responded to the questions concerning stray dogs and loud cars but ignored the messages addressing problems of volunteer fighters of the Akhmat Battalion. The Vyorstka Telegram channel pointed out that dozens of such comments were picked for the broadcast on YouTube. In the middle of the conference the presenter went so far as to remind Kadyrov about the tablet in his hands where he could check all the questions and respond to the most pressing ones. Kadyrov chose to ignore this suggestion. The head of Chechnya mentioned volunteer fighters who participate in the “special military operation” only once, affirming that Chechnya does everything possible for them. In particular, Kadyrov claimed that Chechnya had exceeded the target number of draftees by 254% and therefore residents of the republic would not be subject to mobilization during the second wave. This suggests that the second wave of mobilization is likely to be launched.

The Netherlands will not give refuge to those fleeing from Russia to avoid mobilization because mobilization has “ended.” Those who are already in the Netherlands will not be subject to deportation. However, this rule does not apply to Russian professional soldiers who desert. Germany is currently the only country ready to grant asylum to Russian deserters who oppose mobilization

Some Russian draftees found themselves at the front without documents. Lack of personal papers may interfere with their relatives’ ability to search for them in case they are killed or taken prisoner. One of the soldiers interviewed by the Mozhem Obyasnit’ [We can explain] Telegram channel says that he has been called up to serve at the unit 42091 in September and transferred to the Kherson area soon afterwards. He and his fellow soldiers only have their military IDs as documents but their military unit hasn’t added any notes to their papers stating that they were actively serving at that particular unit. As a result, the draftees are unable to receive their monetary compensation in full. “My employer has not received any documentation confirming I was drafted and fired me for systematically not showing up to work,” the mobilized soldier says. He adds that he will be consulting with lawyers upon his return from the combat zone.

There are three underage children in the family of a draftee from Tyva [Russia’s constituent republic]. Despite the guidance by the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces granting fathers of three a draft deferral, the man was mobilized three months ago and has not been allowed to return home.

News has emerged that another draftee has been killed in the war. Kirill Kolobaev, born 1994, from the town of Kulebaki in the Nizhny Novgorod region, was mobilized in Sept. 2022 and was killed in the “special military operation” on Dec. 19.

The Russian Ministry of Defense reports that military units from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus continue their joint unit cohesion training. In particular, servicemen are practicing shooting their regular issued weapons, driving military vehicles, studying tactical medicine and other disciplines. Meanwhile, mobilized tankers from the Western Military District who completed their unit cohesion training are [according to the Russian MoD] “busy destroying Ukrainian armored vehicles in the ‘special military operation’ zone”.

In Yekaterinburg, the court released the paratrooper accused of taking bribes and let him go to the Donbas. Yevgeny Teterin is the leader of the Sverdlovsk branch of the Union of Russian Paratroopers. In the fall of 2021, a criminal case on mediation in a bribe was filed against him. Until the summer of 2022, the paratrooper was in jail. Later, the court changed his pretrial restriction to a written undertaking not to leave his place of residence. In November, Teterin went “on a business trip” to the Donbas. There he represented Tatyana Merzlyakova, Commissioner for Human Rights in the Sverdlovsk region. According to the court, the paratrooper's business trip didn’t violate his pretrial restriction, and he did not appear at the court hearing "for a good reason."

In Petrozavodsk, a 49-year-old military man who returned from Ukraine shot his wife with a service weapon. It is unknown what exactly provoked him. The shooter called the police himself.

A conscript was imprisoned for 5 years for a trip to his parents. The guy from the Perm region left the unit on Aug. 14 and returned on Oct. 2, after which he turned himself in to authorities. As a result, he received the minimum sentence possible under this article.

In Astrakhan, a governor's New Year’s party was held where the children of mobilized parents, children from boarding schools, as well as from the Donbas were present. But only the children of the mobilized parents received gifts, while children with disabilities did not get any. The administration told the parents that their children would receive gifts later, not at the party itself.

A mobilized soldier from the Idrinsky district of the Krasnoyarsk region has recorded a New Year's video greeting for his fellow countrymen. Meanwhile, in the city of Sovetsky, Khanty-Mansiysk region, messages are sent to the school chats about the collection of cans for trench candles. Margarita Simonyan [Russian propagandist, editor-in-chief of the RT international news television network] said in her Telegram channel that she handed over T-shirts with the RT channel logos to soldiers, including the mobilized. A tractor-trailer unit with gear purchased at the expense of UralVagonZavod [Russian state-owned machine-building company] employees has arrived at a military unit, which is deployed in the “special military operation” zone. Winter overalls, thermal underwear, sleeping bags, body protectors, first aid kits and other necessary items were delivered to servicemen. The soldiers thanked the company’s employees for their support and kindness.

Women have become more in demand in the labor market — they are now more often invited for interviews against the backdrop of mobilization. Experts of the HeadHunter recruiting company came to such conclusions. The demand for female labor has grown in the Chukotka Autonomous region, the Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia and Chechnya [Russia’s constituent republics], Vladimir and Nenets regions.