Mobilization in Russia for Feb. 17-19, 2026 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

The State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] unanimously approved the first reading of a bill to expand the scope of crime prevention activities. Legislators propose adding two new clauses to Article Six of the law "On the Basics of the Crime Prevention System" that aim to "prevent and suppress evasion of the duty to defend the Fatherland" and "counter the distortion of historical truth." The initiative would allow authorities to establish preventive supervision over people convicted of rehabilitating Nazism, insulting veterans, and evading military service. Law enforcement officers would gain the ability to conduct "preventive conversations" with these individuals, deliver warnings against breaking the law, place them on special watchlists, and carry out "preventive supervision." The bill would additionally empower "local government bodies and the public" to engage in crime prevention. The authors of the initiative justify the measure by citing the "increased probability of military conflicts" and the need to protect "traditional values."

Lawmakers introduced amendments ahead of the second reading of the military genomic registration bill that would extend the initiative to civil servants, police officers, Rosgvardia [Russian National Guard] personnel and conscripts, regardless of their involvement in combat operations. The original bill mandated genomic registration only for contract military personnel, including foreign nationals, volunteer fighters, Rosgvardia members and Ministry of Internal Affairs employees, as well as civilian departmental staff participating in "combat operations, counter-terrorism and peacekeeping operations."

The head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Aleksandr Kurenkov, announced that under a mechanism recently agreed upon by the ministries of Emergency Situations and Defense, officials plan to send up to 5,000 conscripts annually to serve in national fire service units.

Army Recruitment

Saint Petersburg has moved into first place in Russia by the size of the sign-up bonus for signing a contract with the MoD. The increase was implemented in two steps over just a few days. On Feb. 18, the payment was raised by 1 million rubles [$13,000]—from the 2.6 million rubles [$33,900] set in January to 3.6 million rubles [$47,000]. The very next day, the amount was increased by another 500,000 rubles [$6,520], bringing it to 4.1 million rubles [$53,500]. The city’s Social Policy Committee declined to explain why the payment was raised in this way. Including the national payment of 400,000 rubles [$5,220], the total bonus now amounts to 4.5 million rubles [$58,700]. Announcements reflecting the new sum have already appeared, including on the Telegram channel of the Baltic State Technical University "Voenmeh," where students are being encouraged to join the unmanned systems forces.

In the Khanty-Mansi autonomous region – Yugra [Russia's federal subject], which previously ranked first by bonus size, 3.55 million rubles [$46,300] have been paid since November 2025, with the total payment there reaching 4.1 million rubles [$53,500].

The Mozhem Ob’yasnit [We Can Explain] Telegram channel also points to a number of other recent increases in payments.

On Feb. 1, the sign-up bonus in the Leningrad region was increased to 2.15 million rubles [$28,000], up from 2 million rubles [$26,100]. In addition, recruits in the region are issued a land certificate, which entitles them—after completing their service—to either a land plot or a cash payment of 450,000 rubles [$5,870]. Several municipalities in the region have also introduced their own local bonuses. For example, in the Gatchina District, contract soldiers are promised an additional 300,000 rubles [$3,910].

Starting Feb. 1, the sign-up bonus was also increased in the Krasnodar region. Instead of the 2.1 million rubles [$27,400] set in August 2025, the region will now pay 2.5 million rubles [$32,600]. An additional 500,000 rubles [$6,520] will be provided as a bonus by municipal authorities.

On Feb. 5, the sign-up bonus in the Yaroslavl region was increased from 700,000 rubles [$9,130], a level set back in September 2024, to 1 million rubles [$13,000]. Municipalities in the region also provide an additional 200,000 rubles [$2,610], while in the city of Yaroslavl the municipal payment is twice as high, at 400,000 rubles [$5,220].On Feb. 17, the regional payment for signing a contract in the Vologda region was increased from 1,405,000 rubles [$18,300], a level introduced in September 2025, to 2.7 million rubles [$35,200].

Saint Petersburg State University (SPbSU) has offered students a one-time stipend of 50,000 rubles [$650] if they sign a contract to serve in unmanned systems troops. The university administration distributed the relevant letter on Feb. 17. SPbSU students were also offered the option of taking academic leave for the entire period of service. To do so, students must email an application along with a copy of the signed contract. The letter claims the service will last one year, although the unmanned systems contract does not differ from a standard contract with the MoD. After the contract expires, students are supposedly able to resume their studies at the university.

Students at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics report receiving recruitment pitches urging them to sign contracts to serve in an "elite Plekhanov UAV operator company." On Feb. 4, students from several departments were summoned to their department heads, who offered them contracts to sign. On Feb. 16, a meeting was held for all first-year male students, where they were first told about admission to the military training center and then encouraged to join the unmanned troops. On Feb. 17, the Higher School of Social Sciences and Humanities held a lecture that also promoted contract signing. Afterward, students with low attendance were taken aside individually and pressured to sign. According to students, the university has also issued an order requiring each faculty to produce two contract signatories.

Students at Bauman Moscow State Technical University and Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University (LETI) have reported similar recruitment methods. There, underperforming students are urged to drop out and sign contracts to take part in the war. At Bauman University, struggling students are reportedly denied academic leave, prevented from transferring to another university, and subjected to stricter exam procedures and shorter deadlines for completing academic debts.

Students at Siberian Federal University are also being encouraged to sign contracts and join UAV units. The recruitment pitch was delivered during a lecture by a representative of the MoD. According to him, fee-paying students are promised a transfer to state-funded tuition after completing their contract.

According to a report from Kenyan intelligence services, more than a thousand citizens of Kenya have enlisted in the Russian army to fight against Ukraine. 39 Kenyans are currently hospitalized, 28 are listed as missing in action, and 89 are on the frontline. It is also known that 30 were repatriated, and another 35 were in military camps or bases. In November 2025, Kenya authorities estimated the number of war participants at approximately 200.

Vladimir Silin, a lawyer and a member of a gang of former law enforcement officers responsible for over 40 murders in the 1990s, has signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense and gone to war after the announcement of his sentence. Silin received nine years in a maximum security penal colony for the murder two or more people. Previously, another member of the gang, Nikolai Trushkov, had done the same, concluding a pre-trial agreement with the prosecutor's office and giving testimony against the accomplices and organizers of the murders. 11 other defendants are involved in the case.

A man accused of a murder committed in a group in the Zabaykalsky region [Russia's federal subject] has avoided punishment by going to war. In the early hours of April 8, 2025, two young men and two teenagers, under the influence of alcohol, engaged in a dispute with a 63-year-old man and brutally assaulted him, resulting in his death in the hospital. After the investigation concluded, one of the defendants signed a contract with the MoD and went to war. The teenagers were sentenced to eight and a half and nine years in a penal colony, while the third defendant received 15 years in a maximum security penal colony.

Kirill Rybkin, accused of a murder committed in Sestroretsk in August 2024, also evaded punishment by signing a contract with the MoD. The case against Rybkin has been suspended.

In Kamensk‑Uralsky, Sverdlovsk region, Maksim Guryev—the owner of a local car wash—has gone to fight in the war after being held in a pre‑trial detention center. He is suspected of organizing the kidnapping and torture of several young women in March 2025. Investigators said the victims were abducted and held for several days at the car wash, where they were subjected to beatings, electric shock torture, and sexual violence.

Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts

A serviceman from Rostov-on-Don reported extortion and threats from his commanders, after which he was declared to have gone AWOL. The 41-year-old man signed a contract in the summer of 2024. While at the frontline, he suffered a severe concussion and cerebral edema. According to him, his commanders demanded half of his injury payout in exchange for referring him to a hospital, which the soldier refused. Consequently, after his treatment, when he was returning to the home base of his unit, he was threatened with being sent on an assault mission due to his refusal to pay. The man also reported regular collections of money for "unit’s needs," the purchase of spare parts and fuel at his own expense, and violence against those who refused to hand over money.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

In the Rostov region, a serviceman who had deserted detonated a grenade during an attempt to detain him and was killed as a result. Two police officers were injured in the explosion and were sent to a hospital.

The Barnaul Garrison Military Court has sentenced serviceman Vasily Pilyuchenko to 15 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of attempted murder and carjacking with the use of violence. His accomplice, civilian Alamdar Mamedov, received 13 years in a maximum security penal colony on the same charges. According to the court, in August 2024, the men had no money for fare and decided to kill a taxi driver who would respond to their call in order to take his car. When the driver brought them to their destination, Pilyuchenko grabbed him, and Mamedov tried to strangle him. However, the taxi driver broke free and ran away, after which the attackers drove off in his car but were subsequently detained. Pilyuchenko had been previously convicted.

The Southern District Military Court has sentenced 49-year-old Ukrainian serviceman Artyom Sirik, likely a native of the Kyiv region, to 19 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of participation in a terrorist community and undergoing terrorist training. According to prosecutors, the man joined the Azov Brigade in 2015 and later fought in the Donetsk region "against the civilian population and servicemen of the Russian Federation." He was taken prisoner in the spring of 2022.

A resident of Chelyabinsk born in 2007 has been sent to a pre-trial detention center in a case related to an attempted terrorist attack, illegal acquisition and possession of explosive substances, and the manufacture of explosive devices. According to the Federal Security Service (FSB), he produced explosives after receiving instructions and was planning to carry out an explosion, one possible objective of which was the murder of a certain "high-ranking official." Reports indicate that at the time of his detention, authorities reportedly seized a diary he kept in the Ukrainian language. It allegedly mentioned correspondence with "handlers" and preparations for the crime.

Law enforcement officers has detained Kazan residents, including two minors. The teenagers—a 17-year-old boy and a 16-year-old college student from Central Asia—have been charged with a terrorist attack and an attempted terrorist attack for allegedly setting fire to a cell phone tower in Kazan on Feb. 14 and preparing a series of similar arsons with two other suspects before being detained. Law enforcement officers opened a criminal case against the latter two for attempted terrorism. All four have been placed in a pre-trial detention center.

Prosecutors have requested sentences of eight and a half and nine years in a juvenile penal colony for two teenagers, aged 16 and 17, who had been helping extinguish forest fires in the Zabaykalsky region, in a case of committing a terrorist attack by a group acting in prior conspiracy. The 16-year-old boy is also accused of aiding terrorist activities. According to investigators, in June 2025 he began corresponding on Telegram with an unidentified person who was likely located in Ukraine. The latter allegedly offered the boy payment to set fire to a forest. Together with a friend, he went to a forested area near Atamanovka and set dry grass and pine needles on fire. The damage caused by their actions was estimated at more than 300 million rubles [$3.91 million]. The teenagers plead not guilty. Earlier, their parents reported that the boys had been tortured during the investigation.

The Second Eastern District Military Court has sentenced two 16-year-old teenagers from Omsk to seven and seven and a half years in prison, respectively, for an act of terror. They were also ordered to pay 668 million rubles [$8.71 million] to the MoD. According to the prosecution, in September 2024, the teenagers broke into a military airfield and set fire to a Mi-8 helicopter by throwing a bottle filled with a homemade incendiary mixture at it. They said they had been acting on orders from an unidentified individual who promised to pay them $20,000 but never did. The youths were detained within 24 hours.

The Baltic Fleet Military Court has sentenced a female servicewoman to 13 years in a penal colony for sabotage involving the arson of an electrical substation.

The Southern District Military Court has sentenced Natalya Kozlova, a 67-year-old retiree from the town of Tokmak in the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region, to nine years in a penal colony after finding her guilty of financing terrorism. Investigators determined that between April 7 and Sept. 23, 2024, Kozlova made several transfers to an account associated with the Azov Brigade. She was detained in May 2025.

Semyon Kravchenko, a Russian citizen who had previously lived in Ukraine and left after the start of the war before returning to Russia, has been sentenced to 14 years in a penal colony on charges of state treason and financing terrorism. Kravchenko had lived in the Sumy region since 2008 and held a permanent residence permit. In 2022, the village Esman, where he resided, was occupied. Fearing Russian soldiers, he entrusted all his valuables, including his bank card and phone, to a friend. The friend made several transfers from the card "to help Ukraine," but Kravchenko did not think much of it at the time. In May 2022, he left for Slovakia and then traveled to Norway. After his sister persuaded him to return, he attempted to cross the border to Russia in November 2024. There, border guards, alerted by his Ukrainian residence permit, summoned the FSB for "filtration procedures." FSB officers then assaulted Kravchenko and found bank transfers, war-related photographs, and anti-war posts by his Facebook friends on his phone. He was taken to the town of Nikel in the Murmansk region, where he was coerced into giving a confession. In August 2025, Kravchenko was convicted over 13 transfers totaling approximately 5,000 rubles [$65].

The Pacific Fleet Military Court has sentenced Artur Salov, a resident of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, to 24 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of treason, preparing an act of terror, deliberate damage and attempted damage to property, preparing to participate in the activities of a terrorist organization, unlawful acquisition and storage of explosives, and preparing to manufacture explosive devices. Investigators concluded that Salov joined what they described as a "Ukrainian terrorist organization" and, acting on its instructions, planned to blow up a draft office and a central heating substation in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. He photographed the sites and purchased explosive components, which he stored in his garage. He was also accused of carrying out several arson attacks in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. He was detained in December 2023 and subsequently placed in pre-trial detention.

A 43-year-old resident of Ryazan, Mikhail Velkin, has been sentenced to 17 years in a penal colony on charges of treason and participation in the activities of a terrorist organization. According to the prosecution, in the summer of 2023 Velkin contacted a representative of the Russian Volunteer Corps and agreed to cooperate. Beginning in February 2024, he allegedly passed to the group information about industrial and military facilities in the Ryazan region, as well as personal data of Russian servicemen.

Mikhail Matkhanov, a former deputy of the Irkutsk regional legislative assembly and the brother of two State Duma deputies, has been sentenced to 20 years in a penal colony on charges of treason and participation in a terrorist organization. Investigators said that in December 2022 Matkhanov transferred $3,050 "with the aim of providing financial assistance to Ukraine" and also attempted to join a "foreign paramilitary organization." He was detained in February 2025 at the Russian-Mongolian border.

A court filing revealed that a resident of the Khabarovsk region, who was sentenced in November 2025 to 17 years in prison on charges of treason is a retired military officer holding the rank of captain, identified by the initials S.V.I. As a result of the verdict, he was stripped of his officer’s rank. An appeal of the court’s decision was rejected.

Miscellaneous

In the Nizhny Novgorod region, Andrey Kupriyanov, a serviceman who has returned from the frontline and previously took part in the regional program for war veterans, "Heroes. Nizhny Novgorod Region," will become the mayor of the town of Zavolzhye.

Longreads

The Vot Tak [Like This] media outlet reported on how Cubans have been lured to Russia since 2023 and sent to fight in the war, with promises of high payments, Russian citizenship or construction jobs.

The Sistema [System] investigative project together with the Skhemy [Schemes] project [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty], examined the private correspondence of Maj. Gen. Roman Demurchiev, in which he shared videos of prisoners with colleagues, friends and relatives and discussed the torture and murder of Ukrainian servicemen.

The Lyudi Baikala [People of Baikal] independent media outlet reconstructed the biography of the serviceman Roman Michurin, who killed a shelter resident, recounting how he had evaded punishment throughout his life.