Mobilization in Russia for Feb. 26-March 1, 2026 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

Russia’s Ministry of Labor and Social Protection plans to expand the list of professions for alternative civilian service by adding 363 new roles, such as concertmaster, forester, educational psychologist, meteorologist, disability rehabilitation specialist and mail carrier. The Federal Service for Labor and Employment reports that more than 2,000 people perform alternative service annually, with participation reaching 2,439 in the first half of 2025 and 2,722 as of Aug. 1.

Russia’s Central Bank directed financial institutions to create dedicated channels for war participants and their families and provide a "special customer journey" for frozen cards or accounts. Banks must promptly lift restrictions when service members or their relatives contact them, while simultaneously hardening security to protect their money from fraudsters. These directives aim to address complaints from military families who regularly encounter account freezes when transferring large sums, which prevents soldiers' salaries from reaching them. Until now, bank hotlines required service members to visit an office in person with a passport to unfreeze their accounts.

Army Recruitment

The head of Bashkortostan [Russia's constituent republic], Radiy Khabirov, has extended the sign-up bonus of 1 million rubles [$13,000] for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense through the end of March. The payment, introduced in early January, had previously been set to expire on Feb. 28.

The head of Tatarstan [Russia’s constituent republic], Rustam Minnikhanov, said that the city of Kazan has slightly fallen short of its recruitment targets for contract soldiers to fight in Ukraine and called on city authorities to step up efforts to meet the plan. Kazan Mayor Ilsur Metshin stated in turn that more than 6,000 families of war participants are under the municipality’s "daily care." Earlier, Andrey Kozlov, head of Kazan’s military recruitment center, reported that more than 8,000 people in Tatarstan signed contracts in the first six months of 2025, compared to over 12,000 in 2024. In March 2025, Minnikhanov put the total number of contract soldiers and mobilized personnel from the republic at 38,169.

Vazhnyye Istorii [IStories, independent Russian investigative media outlet] has examined the activities of the Voyevoda military training center, which recruits contract soldiers for the war in Ukraine. Whereas the center previously offered only military training courses for civilians, it is now seeking linguistics and international relations students with foreign language skills for the position of “international communications specialist.” Their responsibilities include searching social media for foreigners with prior military experience—or an interest in obtaining it—requesting scans of their passports for verification, and passing qualified leads to supervisors. Candidates are promised a fixed salary of 110,000 rubles [$1,430] per month, plus an additional 100,000 rubles for each foreign recruit they bring in. Some Russian recruiters have reportedly earned substantial sums this way, though it is unclear whether all of them worked specifically with foreign nationals. Through contacts at diplomatic missions, the center brings citizens of Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen, Lebanon, Libya, Iraq, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Pakistan to Russia. Of these countries, only Ethiopia and Pakistan are currently on the recruiters’ blacklist.

Last year alone, the center spent more than 4.5 million rubles [$58,500] on airfare and train tickets for mercenaries. In 2025, Voyevoda received more than 360 million rubles [$4.68 million] for recruitment efforts. A significant portion of this funding came from the budgets of Moscow and other regions and municipalities. The rest reportedly came from contributions extracted from large companies and private individuals, including developers, agricultural firms, elderly farmers, charitable foundations intended to support children, and public-sector trade unions. Sources cited by the outlet say such payments are effectively used by authorities to pressure donors into buying protection from potential problems.

The African Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church has been recruiting young Kenyans to fight in the war against Ukraine. According to reports, Kenyan citizens were offered opportunities to travel to Russia for work or study, with the church promising to sponsor their trips. Recruits were brought in on tourist visas and promised salaries of about $3,000 per month, which they never received. Upon arrival, their documents were confiscated, bank accounts were opened in their names but controlled by commanders, and they were sent to the frontline. A report by Kenya’s National Intelligence Service stated that more than 1,000 Kenyans had been sent to the war. In early February, the Kenyan government publicly called on Russia to halt the recruitment campaign.

Echo, an independent media outlet, has reported on an active campaign to recruit students for participation in the war against Ukraine. Journalists compiled public reports of recruitment activity in 57 universities and 13 colleges and technical schools across 24 regions, including annexed Crimea. They noted that the actual number of educational institutions involved is likely significantly higher.

Students at the Institute of Economics and Management at Samara University were required to attend a meeting with instructors from the university’s military training center. At the meeting, students were offered one-year contracts with unmanned systems troops in exchange for having their exam requirements cleared. Those who refused were threatened with expulsion. According to students, the university is required to send 25 "volunteers" into the army.

At Orenburg State University, students attended a meeting with an instructor from a contract service recruitment center who urged them to sign contracts for service in unmanned systems troops. Meanwhile, at VGIK, messages are being circulated that, in addition to encouraging students themselves to enlist, ask them to bring in recruits for UAV troops regardless of their region of residence, with support from the rector’s office promised. The university will cover travel and accommodation costs for those interested. As "motivation," the messages mention "oversight of social support for the family" and loan forgiveness of up to 10 million rubles [$129,900].

Former judge Sultan Azizov of the Khasavyurt District Court in Dagestan [Russia’s constituent republic] signed a contract with the MoD and went to war after his judicial immunity was stripped and a criminal case was opened against him. Azizov is suspected of accepting a bribe of 2 million rubles [$26,000], as well as illegally possessing drugs and ammunition for firearms.

In the Tomsk region, police have suspended 1,183 criminal cases over the past two years after suspects signed contracts with the MoD and went to war. The number fell from 672 such cases in 2024 to 511 in 2025.

Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts

Vladimir Andreyev, a 34-year-old resident of Sortavala in Karelia [Russia’s constituent republic], signed a contract in 2024, was assigned to the 82nd Motorized Rifle Regiment, and was deployed to the Vovchansk direction. At the frontline, he was diagnosed with hepatitis C and liver cirrhosis. He was granted medical leave for treatment and was supposed to report for a follow-up examination on Nov. 19, 2025. However, on Nov. 11, 2025, the commandant’s office took him and returned him to forward positions. He was later taken prisoner.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

A court in the Saratov region sentenced Stanislav Vyshinsky, a repeat offender and former Wagner Group mercenary, to 10 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of attempted murder, theft and property destruction after he set fire to the entrance of a two-story wooden house where two families with children were living. Prosecutors said that in the early hours of March 23, 2024, following an argument with his partner, Vyshinsky blocked the exit and attempted to trap the residents inside. The fire was extinguished and no one was killed. Vyshinsky had previously been convicted of theft, robbery and car theft, and in 2021 was sentenced to 11 years for murder. While serving that sentence, he signed a contract with the Wagner Group, was deployed to the frontline and later pardoned.

A contract soldier from Adygea [Russia's constituent republic], Ruslan Inukhov, was sentenced to six years in prison for going AWOL. He had been away from his unit for more than a month before turning himself in on Aug. 29, 2025. The court declined to treat his war injury, state award and family circumstances, including a minor child and disabled mother and brother as mitigating factors.

Authorities have also opened a drug possession case against 37-year-old war participant Mikhail Slobodyan, who in October 2025 struck three girls with his car in Revda, killing two. Alcohol and traces of narcotics were found in his blood after the crash. Slobodyan is seeking to return to the frontline, but the mother of the deceased girls has opposed that move and is calling for a harsh sentence.

Two students, aged 17 and 18, were detained on suspicion of setting fire to two gas stations in Novosibirsk and Berdsk on Feb. 25. Investigators said they were acting on instructions from scammers.

The Voronezh Regional Court sentenced 18-year-old Valeria Fursova to six years in a penal colony, 19-year-old Artyom Ivanov to eight and a half years in a penal colony, and 20-year-old Andrey Baskakov to 12 years in prison in a sabotage case. Ivanov was also found guilty of treason, undergoing training for the purpose of carrying out sabotage, assisting sabotage, and knowingly making a false report of a terrorist attack. According to investigators, in the spring of 2024 Ivanov began corresponding with a representative of the Ukrainian intelligence services, painted anti-war graffiti, then placed a mock explosive device on railway tracks, and later, together with Baskakov and Fursova, set fire to a relay cabinet, filming the arson on video. After their detention, the young people said they committed the arson on May 1, 2024, for financial compensation, but the promised payment was never delivered.

Children and Militarization

The Prosveshcheniye publishing house has released the first textbook titled "Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: From Design to Career Choice," intended for specialized study within physics and computer science courses for students in grades 10–11.

In Crimea, schoolchildren are being encouraged to enroll in military psychology programs in order to help Russian soldiers cope with PTSD.

Assistance

Students at Ural National University received a mailing asking them to take part in collecting aid for the soldiers in Ukraine "in connection with the mass shutdown of Starlink terminals." The list of requested items includes Gazprom satellite kits costing from 90,000 rubles [$1,170], Wi-Fi routers, relay stations, filters and power supply units.

Longreads

BBC News Russian reports on how Russian universities and colleges are sending their students to war. According to the outlet, since the beginning of December at least 95 Russian universities and colleges have begun encouraging their students to sign service contracts in the "drone troops."

The Sibir.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet has also published a report on how students are being pressured to sign contracts at various universities and colleges across Russia.

The Lyudi Baikala [People of Baikal] independent media outlet told the story of Svetlana Tolkachyova, a volunteer with cancer who was detained in May 2025 in a treason case over correspondence with a volunteer in Tbilisi whom law enforcement officers consider to be an employee of the Ukrainian intelligence services. Despite her illness, she is awaiting trial in a pre-trial detention center.

The Vyorstka media outlet reports on how Russian authorities are persecuting the religious organization "School of the Unified Principle," founded in Ukraine. Security officials described a gathering of the group’s followers as "a meeting of a radical pro-Ukrainian sect."