Mobilization in Russia for Feb. 20-23, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

Authorities in the Samara region partially rolled back Russia’s highest bonus for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense, restricting the 3.6 million ruble [$40,500] one-time payout to officers and those renewing contracts. All other enlistees are set to receive 2.1 million rubles [$23,700], or 2.5 million rubles [$28,200] once the federal component is included. The region introduced the 3.6-million-ruble bonus on Jan. 1, 2025, and officials, citing the strain on the local budget, planned to review its extension each month.

Authorities in Russia’s Primorsky region boosted the region’s sign-up bonus for new contracts to 1.6 million rubles [$18,000], raising the total amount to 2 million rubles [$22,500] when factoring in the federal component. Officials had increased the bonus from 800,000 rubles [$9,000] to 1 million rubles [$11,300] exactly one month earlier on Jan. 21.

The migration agency in the Primorsky region says that its "migration amnesty" policy made it possible for nearly 40 migrants to enlistand jointhe "special military operation" since the invasion began. Starting Feb. 5, 2025, foreigners who break rules or deadlines for temporary stays in Russia risk deportation, but between Jan. 1 and April 30, they can voluntarily report to the police to legalize their status, which is possible, among other options, by signing a contract.

In the Krasnoyarsk region, Kirill Ch., a 36-year-old resident of Achinsk who killed his ex-wife, her new lover, and threatened to kill his own daughter, has expressed a desire to go to war 10 days after his arrest.

Law enforcement officers raided martial arts clubs in Russia’s constituent Republic of Tatarstan. During the roundups in the cities of Kazan, Almetyevsk and Naberezhnye Chelny, 70 people were checked. Ten men who had obtained Russian citizenship but had not undergone military registration were summoned to draft offices.

As reported by the Astra Telegram channel, 25-year-old programmer from Moscow Dmitry Mochalovsky, who is recognized as partially fit for military service, continues to receive draft notices. Previously, the man with service fitness category "V" (partially fit for military service) was detained by the police and taken to a draft office, but later released. Since then, he has been required to report to a military collection point on April 16, after the start of the spring conscription campaign. Mochalovsky demands a new medical examination.

Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers

Based on open sources, Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] and BBC News Russian, together with volunteers, have verified the names of 95,026 Russian fighters killed in Ukraine by the end of the third year of the full-scale invasion. Over the past week, the list has grown by 1,385 soldiers. This time, journalists have thoroughly examined public obituaries of fallen soldiers from the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, which are not included in the list of named dead. According to the analysis, since the outset of the "special military operation," the unrecognized republics could have lost between 21,000 and 23,500 people, the overwhelming majority of which occurred in the first year of the invasion. The list also includes 16,171 convicts deployed to the war from penal colonies, whose convictions were confirmed, but in reality, the number of convicts killed is much higher. Thus, out of every 10 fallen on Russia's side, three are convicts, and two are residents of the self-proclaimed "DPR" and "LPR." According to estimates by journalists, the total number of casualties on the Russian side could range from 165,000 to 235,000.

Nineteen-year-old conscript Ruslan Kalimullin from Tatarstan was killed in the war. According to his sister, he was serving in the Belgorod region and was "hunting drones," although he was supposed to be assisting in digging trenches.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has obtained a list of soldiers sent to a hospital over two years of war—from January 2022 to June 2024—from Aleksey Zhilyaev, a former commander of a medical evacuation unit in the Russian Army’s 144th Motorized Rifle Division who deserted. According to the list, during this period, 3,205 Russian soldiers suffered severe injuries, 37,567 sustained moderate injuries, and 63,821 received minor injuries. In total, the database contains information on 166,000 wounded soldiers. More details on Russian casualties can be found in RFE/RL's in-depth investigation.

Relatives of 35-year-old serviceman Denis Mashlyakevich of the 68th Tank Regiment of the 150th Division told Astra that he was pressured to personally purchase a UAV for an affiliated unit at a cost of 200,000 rubles [$2,250]. The serviceman refused, stating that he was not part of that unit. Following his refusal, Mashlyakevich was detained somewhere in the "DPR,” during which time large sums were repeatedly withdrawn from his bank account. He was also shot in both hands with an air gun. After these events, a fellow soldier warned Denis that he was being targeted for elimination as an unwanted witness. Fearing for his life, Mashlyakevich left his unit in November to seek help from the prosecutor’s office, where he was promised an investigation. However, on Jan. 27, he was detained by unidentified men in civilian clothing and taken back to his unit. Since then, there has been no contact with him.

Marina Lebedeva, head of the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers in the Sverdlovsk region, described the methods used to pressure conscripts in the region into signing contracts with the MoD for deployment to the war. In addition to blackmail and promises of high pay, commanders resort to deception, forging conscripts’ signatures on contracts. Previously, we have repeatedly reported on how the command of the 90th Tank Division in the town of Chebarkul has engaged in similar practices.

Serviceman Vasily Semennikov, who contracted hepatitis in a hospital after being wounded, was sent back to Ukraine despite having a festering leg.

A soldier of the 87th Separate Rifle Regiment showed the "cold pit" in the city of Makiivka—a room in the basement where servicemen are held in terrible conditions without necessary medical care. Commanders ignore the health condition of their subordinates, keeping in the "cold pits" even those who have lost limbs.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

The Kyakhta Garrison Court in Buryatia [Russia's constituent republic] has found servicemen Vladimir Lunyov and Stanislav Pavlenko guilty of grievous bodily harm resulting in death, infliction of moderate harm and issuing death threats. They were sentenced to eight and six years in a maximum security penal colony, respectively. The servicemen, along with another man, beat to death the owner of the apartment where they had been drinking alcohol. They assaulted another man who came to the apartment, threatening him with death.

The Vladimir Garrison Military Court has sentenced 43-year-old serviceman Andrey Akhremtsov to three years of probation for intentionally causing grievous bodily harm with a weapon. Akhremtsov went to his elderly neighbor to complain about a loud TV, music, and "insects running into his apartment." Ten minutes later, the man's son entered the apartment, with whom the serviceman had a conflict, during which Akhremtsov pulled out a knife. According to the soldier, the man pushed him to the floor and "fell onto the knife blade."

The Vladimir Garrison Military Court has sentenced a participant in the war against Ukraine, Junior Sergeant Vladimir Fyodorov, to two years of probation for attacking and insulting police officers, as well as going AWOL. According to the verdict, Fyodorov is a drug addict and suffers from mental and behavioral disorders. Despite this, he continued serving in the army after the sentence.

According to the Kurgan Regional Court chairman, in 2024, the region's courts suspended the investigation of criminal cases against 157 people who went to war. The courts of first instance received 4773 criminal cases this year.

The Kemerovo Regional Court sentenced Viktoria Golushko and Yegor Ermakov from Anzhero-Sudzhensk, Kemerovo region, to 16 and 19 years in a penal colony for sabotage and participation in a sabotage group. According to the prosecution, in March 2023, the couple allegedly set fire to relay and battery cabinets near the Anzherskaya-Zapadnaya station, causing damage to the Russian Railways [Russian fully state-owned railway company] amounting to more than 57,000 rubles [$640]. However, according to the Shot Telegram channel, the couple failed to carry out the arson, as they could not open the cabinets. The detention of the young people became known in April 2023.

In Yekaterinburg, 18-year-old Vadim Tomilov from Irbit, Sverdlovsk region, has been charged with attempted treason and preparing to participate in a "terrorist organization." According to investigators, between Dec. 2, 2023, and May 9, 2024, Tomilov filled out an application and joined the Russian Volunteer Corps. He was supposed to travel to Tbilisi for an in-person meeting with an RVC representative. On May 9, 2024, Tomilov arrived at Yekaterinburg Airport from Irbit and purchased a ticket to Tbilisi for a May 11 flight. However, he was immediately detained. Allegedly, his own parents reported him to the FSB after learning about his plans.

The FSB has reported court sentences in criminal cases involving sabotage and acts of terror against eight Russian citizens from six regions of Russia. The agency's statement mentions four individuals whose sentences had previously been made public: Sergey Chernookiy, Aleksey Grigoriev, Maksim Moskalyov, and Yegor Ermakov, as well as Viktoria Golushko. Additionally, new names have emerged: Eduard Gladkikh, Dmitry Demidchik, and Ilya Fomichyov. In February 2025, Eduard Gladkikh was sentenced to 16 years in prison for setting fire to relay cabinets and attempting to explode a gas station. The FSB did not specify the exact sentences received by Dmitry Demidchik and Ilya Fomichyov. However, their names appear on the Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring) register of "terrorists and extremists."

Assistance

Russian regions are reporting the number of debt-related court cases suspended at the request of war participants. In the Altai region [Russia’s federal subject], more than 15,000 legal proceedings were suspended in 2024, totaling over 957 million rubles [$10.78 million]. In the Leningrad region, 1,200 cases worth over 96 million rubles [$1.08 million] have been suspended since the beginning of 2025. Since February 2022, approximately 16,000 enforcement proceedings in the region have been suspended, amounting to 1.6 billion rubles [$18.02 million]. In the Perm region [Russia’s federal subject], from Dec. 1, 2024, court bailiffs suspended 303 enforcement proceedings and wrote off 25 million rubles [$281,600] in creditor debt for 118 participants in the "special military operation." Meanwhile, in the Kurgan region, more than 1,000 enforcement proceedings totaling 34 million rubles [$382,900] have been suspended since the beginning of 2025.

Children and Educational System

Ahead of Defender of the Fatherland Day, a military-themed event took place for the senior group at a kindergarten in the village of Pomary, Mari El [Russia's constituent republic]. The children were dressed in military uniforms and divided into teams for a relay race, in which they ran to an "island" and attempted to hit a target with a "grenade." Similar military-style events were held in many other regions as well. Schoolchildren from the Perm region were required to register to participate in military-style exercises, known as Zarnitsa, which are compulsory for students in grades 5-11.

At School No. 5 in Nakhodka, former Wagner Group mercenary Aleksey Kozlovich, who was sentenced to 17 years in a penal colony for murder, congratulatedthe children on Defender of the Fatherland Day. In 2011, Kozlovich was convicted of murdering biker Aleksey Barsukov in the Zabaykalsky region [Russia's federal subject].

In Stavropol, School No. 9 celebrated Defenders of the Fatherland Day with several former members of the Wagner Group, half of whom have criminal records. Oleg Irisov was sentenced to seven and a half years in a maximum security penal colony in 2020 for drug distribution, while Anton Pavlyukov was sentenced to nine and a half years in 2022 for drug-related offenses. Valery Yakubanets was convicted multiple times for theft. Wagner mercenaries also congratulated children on Feb. 23 at the Sibiryachok kindergarten in Irkutsk.

Miscellaneous

The natural population decline in Russia, excluding territories annexed after 2022, increased by 20.4% in 2024 compared to 2023 [596,200 people versus 495,200], according to a report from the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) on natural population movement. In 2024, the country saw a 3.4% decrease in births and a 3.3% increase in deaths. Previously, natural population decline had been decreasing. By preliminary official estimate, Russia's population decreased by 123,000 people in 2024. Currently, Rosstat estimates the population in the country to be 146.028 million.

Governor of the Zabaykalsky region Aleksandr Osipov announced the start of the national Time of Heroes personnel program in the region. The governor of the Novosibirsk region also presented the Heroes of NovoSibir project for veterans of the "special military operation." The project aims to select the best candidates who will undergo military training and potentially occupy leadership positions in the future.

Longreads

Regional Aspect's in-depth reporting spoke with representatives of indigenous small-numbered peoples of Siberia and the Far East, who are on the verge of disappearing, many of whom have lost relatives in the war.

The Bumaga [Paper] independent media outlet details the exhibits at the "special military operation" museum in Saint Petersburg, as well as the pre-war activities in city schools on the eve of Defender of the Fatherland Day.