Mobilization in Russia for Feb. 24-26, 2026 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

In a single session, the State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] approved the second and third readings of a bill that would prohibiting authorities from extraditing to other countries, for criminal prosecution or sentence execution, foreign citizens and stateless persons who have signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense. The bill adds a new clause to an article of the Criminal Procedure Code titled "Refusal to Extradite a Person." This legislation explicitly prohibits Russia from handing over any foreigner or stateless individual who is currently serving or has previously served on a contract basis in the Russian Armed Forces and other military formations, or who participated in combat operations within their ranks. Previously, lawmakers approved the first reading of a separate bill banning the administrative expulsion or deportation of foreign war participants. Instead, courts would be required to impose compulsory labor or fines ranging from 1,000 to 50,000 rubles [$13-$650]. Furthermore, the amendments would prohibit authorities from denying or canceling residence permits for such foreign nationals.

Also in a single session, the State Duma approved the second and third readings of a bill mandating genomic registration for military personnel. Lawmakers amended the bill before the second reading to include civil servants, police officers, Rosgvardia [the Russian National Guard] personnel and conscripts, regardless of their participation in combat. Initially, the bill applied only to contract servicemen—including foreigners, volunteer fighters, Rosgvardia members and internal affairs officers, alongside civilian agency staff—who specifically participated in combat, counterterrorism or peacekeeping missions. Authorities will retain genomic data until individuals reach 100 years of age, or, in the event of death, until their identity is established. Individuals may request the destruction of their data upon leaving service. The law will enter into force 90 days after its official publication.

Lawmakers have also introduced in the State Duma a bill allowing volunteer fighters up to 10 days of family leave in the event of severe illness or death of a close relative. The proposed legislation would amend the laws "On the Status of Military Personnel" and "On Education." It would also grant the children of fallen volunteer fighters the same status as children of deceased servicemen, providing them priority admission to schools and other educational institutions that offer supplementary military or state training.

The government commission on legislative activity has approved a bill introducing amendments to the Law on Education expanding social guarantees for the families of fallen servicemen. The initiative would grant widows and widowers of servicemen killed in combat zones or in border areas the right to receive secondary vocational education in a new specialty free of charge. Previously, the right to pursue a second round of tuition-free education at technical schools and colleges was available only to war participants themselves and did not extend to their family members.

Army Recruitment

Reports continue to emerge about students being recruited into contract military service, ostensibly for the Unmanned Systems Forces. According to estimates by the Groza student media outlet, outreach and advertising for contract service have been recorded at no fewer than 34 universities and seen colleges across Russia.

According to the Bumaga [Paper] independent media outlet, in Saint Petersburg alone, such recruitment efforts are underway at least 29 universities and two colleges. In some institutions, meetings have been held with representatives from military commissariats [enlistment offices], while in others, students are being offered the option of signing a one-year contract in lieu of expulsion.

Military service advertisements have also reportedly been placed at Cheboksary Electromechanical College, where some of the students are minors. At a branch of Oryol University, students were encouraged to sign contracts by, among others, a war veteran who had lost an arm and a representative from a contract military service recruitment facility.

At Vladivostok State University and Far Eastern Federal University, students with academic debt who are at risk of expulsion are being urged to sign one-year contracts with the MoD. They are promised that their academic arrears will be cleared upon their return, as well as academic leave during their service, with the option to defend their thesis in advance and take final state exams. They are also offered an individual study plan, priority transfer from tuition-based to state-funded places, free dormitory accommodation, a monthly "veteran’s" stipend of 5,000 rubles [$65] and material assistance of 20,000 rubles [$260] per semester. Recruitment advertisements are being displayed on campus, and consultation points for enlistment into the Unmanned Systems Forces have been opened.

Students at a college affiliated with Kazan Innovative University are also being pressured to sign contracts to participate in the war. Its director, Yulia Khadiullina, held a meeting with underperforming students, stating that they had "all already been expelled," while a representative of the military commissariat offered the "expelled" students contracts with the MoD, promising service in the Krasnodar region. According to Khadiullina, she can no longer conceal from the military commissariat the lists of students facing expulsion, since doing so would violate the law. However, some students still have time to retake exams, and others had failed only one subject. Khadiullina also said: "Our country is in the special military operation. The country needs warriors. Young men aged 18 are eligible to become warriors. And so the new army will be formed from among those students who can no longer be considered students—that is, you." She added that discussions would also be held with students without academic debt, but "about duty to the motherland and voluntary consent," whereas with those facing expulsion, "your life in the college is over."

A teacher at one of the colleges told Vazhnyye Istorii [IStories, independent Russian investigative media outlet] how student recruitment is being conducted. According to her, staff were ordered to gather all adult male students for an event where they would be told "about changes in military service legislation." When teachers objected, they were told the directive came from above and that those who disagreed could resign. Teachers were instructed to notify students personally or by phone so that no written correspondence would be saved. Parents were not to be informed. The teacher advised her students to attend and listen but not sign anything. If students refused to attend, administrators demanded that their presence be "ensured." During the meeting, the young men were split into two groups: one group met with war participants who demonstrated drones and spoke about their need for creative recruits, while the other group was offered contracts to sign.

At the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, according to former rector’s adviser Marina Barinova, quotas have been introduced for sending students into contract military service. As of February 2026, the university plans to recruit 32 individuals from among so-called "promising students"—men with the required medical fitness category. In total, this category includes 267 students out of 7,251, according to the table. The quotas are distributed among the university’s schools and institutes, and the university has not officially commented. This means the university is expected to send 0.44% of its male students into the army in one month. If this quota is extrapolated to all students in Russia, roughly 9,000 people would need to sign contracts each month. Similar quotas were reported in early February by students at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics (two people per faculty) and at the St. Petersburg campus of the Higher School of Economics (five students per month).

The Ulyanovsk College of Culture and Arts published an addendum to a contract with the MoD on its website. The addendum outlines the terms under which students are offered to serve in the Unmanned Systems Forces. According to one of the provisions, after a three-month probationary period, the MoD will determine whether the recruit meets the requirements for service in the unmanned forces. As a result, if the assessment is negative, the student contractor could be reassigned to the infantry. Despite a clause on discharge upon the contract’s expiration, which the Vyorstka media outlet had previously reported on, it is effectively void under the current mobilization decree, as a presidential decree carries supreme legal authority. Following the public backlash, the college removed the document from its website.

A suspect in the murder of two people in Tuva [Russia's constituent republic] signed a contract with the MoD and left for the war without waiting for his case to go to trial.

Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts

According to their tally, the SOTAproject media outlet found that at least 29 clergy members of the Russian Orthodox Church have been killed in the war with Ukraine. The tally is based on published obituaries and reports about clerics who either served as military chaplains or signed contracts with the MoD and were deployed to the frontline. In addition to Orthodox clergy, representatives of other faiths have also been killed in the war, including imams from the Orenburg and Tyumen regions, the Perm region [Russia's federal subject] and Samara, as well as a Buddhist lama from Buryatia [Russia's constituent republic].

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

The Saint Petersburg Garrison Military Court sentenced serviceman Ivan Maksimov to four years of probation for violating traffic laws while intoxicated, resulting in grievous bodily harm. According to court records, on Jan. 4, 2024, Maksimov, who was drunk and did not have a driver's license, struck a woman who was crossing the road on a green light. The defendant pleaded guilty to the charges, and the court took into account his participation in the war, his awards and his injuries.

The Southern District Military Court has upheld the sentence against Pavel Kotelnikov, a mobilized soldier, who received a seven-year sentence in a penal colony for mediating bribery in a case involving four instances of receiving money totaling over 4 million rubles [$52,000] for transferring soldiers to serve further from the frontline. Kotelnikov made each of the bribery proposals at the direction of a superior officer, as he did not have the authority to transfer military personnel. The court took into account the mobilized soldier's participation in the war, the fact that he had been awarded a medal and that he has two children.

In Russia's constituent Republic of Karelia, in the city of Petrozavodsk, a court has ordered the arrest of Sergey Maksimov, a previously convicted former mercenary of the Wagner Group, on charges of intentionally causing grievous bodily harm resulting in death. According to investigators, on Jan. 3, 2026, Maksimov and a woman he lived with had a conflict, during which he accidentally stabbed her. After the incident, Maksimov fled and was placed on the wanted list. He was arrested on Jan. 7 and pleaded guilty.

In Ufa, the capital of Russia's constituent republic of Bashkortostan, four people have been detained in connection with a case of fraud committed by an organized group. According to investigators, in 2024, a lawyer, his wife and an acquaintance persuaded a homeless man to marry the fourth member of the group and sign a contract with the MoD. The man agreed, went to war and was killed in 2025. The fake wife received 13.8 million rubles [$179,500] from the federal budget and another 2 million rubles [$26,000] from the republic's treasury for his death. The money was divided among the four participants in the scheme. The lawyer and an accomplice were sent to a pre-trial detention center, and the two women were given a "ban on certain actions."

The Southern District Military Court has sentenced Ukrainian servicemen Maksym Bozhko and Illia Dovbnia, both members of the Azov Brigade, to 19 years in a maximum security penal colony. They were convicted on charges of participating in a terrorist community and training for terrorism. Both men took part in the defense of Mariupol in 2022 and were captured at the end of May that year.

A court in Saint Petersburg has ordered a 15‑year‑old girl held in pre‑trial detention center on charges of committing an act of terror after she set fire to a gas station on Feb. 23. Employees extinguished the blaze themselves, and no injuries were reported. Investigators, however, said her actions were intended to "destabilize the activities of government authorities" through arson. The suspect pleaded guilty. According to reports, she had fallen victim to scammers posing as representatives of the Federal Security Service (FSB).

The Magdagachinsky District Court in the Amur Region has remanded an assistant electric locomotive driver accused of sabotage to a pre-trial detention center. According to the FSB, he poured an incendiary mixture over the control unit in the locomotive’s engine compartment and set it on fire; however, the blaze was quickly extinguished. After his arrest, the suspect stated that he had acted under pressure from scammers.

A new criminal case on charges of participation in mass unrest has been opened against 17-year-old Arseny Turbin, who was previously sentenced to five years in a juvenile penal colony (1, 2) in a case related to alleged participation in the activities of a terrorist organization. The charges stemmed from distributing leaflets criticizing Putin in his neighbors’ mailboxes and for completing an application form to join the "Freedom of Russia Legion." After sentencing, Turbin was held in a juvenile penal colony in the village of Gamovo in the Perm region; however, on the eve of the new case he was transferred to Pre-Trial Detention Center No. 5 in Perm in connection with the new charges. The details of the accusation have not been disclosed, but according to human rights advocate Oksana Asaulenkо, on Jan. 7 several convicts of the penal colony where Turbin had been serving his sentence attempted to provoke a riot.

A court in the Krasnodar region has ordered a 39-year-old man facing charges of high treason and preparing an act of terror to be held in pre-trial detention. According to the FSB, the suspect corresponded via WhatsApp with an individual whom investigators identified as a representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense and allegedly transmitted photographs and video footage of military facilities. He was reportedly apprehended after assembling an incendiary mixture that authorities claim was intended for an arson attack on an aircraft at a military airfield.

In Saint Petersburg, security officials detained two individuals on charges of plotting a terrorist attack. The suspects were allegedly acting under the direction of Ukrainian intelligence services, receiving their instructions via the Telegram messaging app. Investigators claim the pair were attempting to organize an assassination attempt on a Russian military officer but were detained by the FSB before the plan could be realized.

The Supreme Court of Russia’s constituent Republic of Tatarstan has sentenced a local resident to 24 years in prison. The man was convicted on a range of charges, including high treason, undergoing training for subversive activities, preparation for sabotage and the illegal possession of explosives. According to investigators, the man was acting in the interests of "pro-Ukrainian organizations" to plot explosions and arson attacks targeting defense industry facilities in the city of Kazan. Authorities have not disclosed his identity or further details of the proceedings.

Children and Militarization

A dispute broke out at a lyceum in Ufa following a "Letter to a Soldier" campaign held to mark Feb. 23. According to parents, students wrote letters to soldiers wishing them to "return home alive" and to "take care of themselves," emphasizing the value of life. The homeroom teacher, however, wrote in a class messaging group that such wording was inappropriate and could "demoralize" soldiers. She instructed that the letters be rewritten in accordance with official guidelines and said students should receive a talk on military duty.

The Baikal sports school in Irkutsk held a "lesson of courage" attended by members of the Wagner Group.

In Bashkortostan, authorities approved a patriotic education program for 2026-2030 under which military units will be paired with schools. The plan calls for providing boys with basic defense training and preparing them for military specialties. By 2030, all students in schools, colleges and universities are expected to take part in patriotic events and military training. The program’s projected cost is 2.1 billion rubles [$27.3 million].

Assistance

In Tatarstan, a registry has been formed consisting of 545 employers ready to hire war participants with a "difficult labor history," including those with criminal records. According to the republic’s Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Protection, companies are ready to offer more than 3,000 jobs to such veterans. It was previously reported that about 10% of convicts in the region signed contracts with the MoD and went to the frontline.

Miscellaneous

Authorities in several regions have begun training unemployed people in protection against drone attacks and evacuation of wounded persons using military vehicles, according to government procurement contracts identified by Vyorstka. In December 2025, the Volkovskoye municipal district in Saint Petersburg placed a contract worth 510,000 rubles [$6,630] for training at least 55 people in a military field camp.

Longreads

Journalists from the Sibir.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet have spoken with the parents of conscript soldiers who, after two months of service in military units in the Russian Far East, were forced through deception or moral pressure to sign contracts with the MoD.