Mobilization in Russia for Feb. 8-10, 2026 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

The State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] approved a bill in its first reading mandating genomic registration for troops involved in combat and counterterrorism operations. The bill was introduced in the State Duma on Jan. 24 after endorsement by the government’s legislative commission. If the legislation is enacted, military personnel and civil servants of the Russian Armed Forces and Rosgvardia [Russian National Guard], as well as volunteer fighters and Interior Ministry employees, will be required to provide DNA samples. The state will store this data until the individual reaches the age of 100 or, in the event of death, until officials verify their identity.

Army Recruitment

Local authorities in the Atkarsky district of the Saratov region established a 650,000-ruble reward [$8,430] for individuals who recruit new contract soldiers and set a municipal sign-up bonus of 200,000 rubles [$2,590] for the recruits themselves. Meanwhile, officials in the Volsky district also raised payments, more than doubling the reward for recruiters from 150,000 to 400,000 rubles [from $1,940 to $5,190]. This rate applies from Feb. 6 through May 31, before reverting to 150,000 rubles on June 1. Authorities similarly increased sign-up bonuses from 200,000 to 300,000 rubles [from $2,590 to $3,890]; this incentive will return to 200,000 rubles on June 1. In an earlier decision, regional authorities raised their contribution to the sign-up bonus from 1 million to 2 million rubles [from $13,000 to $25,900].

Authorities in Tyumen [a city in Western Siberia] are using SMS alerts and police visits to summon final-year college students to draft offices for recruitment into the border troops of the Federal Security Service (FSB).

Universities in Saint Petersburg have begun posting advertisements for the Unmanned Systems Forces on their social media accounts. The ads promise students at least three months of training, guaranteed discharge after the end of a one-year contract, service specifically in unmanned systems units, and admission to master’s and doctoral programs without entrance exams after completing service. Recruits are promised the same payments as under a regular contract—3 million rubles [$38,900] as a sign-up bonus and from 210,000 rubles [$2,720] per month. Billboards advertising the Unmanned Systems Forces have also begun appearing around the city.

Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts

Relatives of conscripts from the Tyumen region who said they had not signed military service contracts have succeeded in having those contracts terminated. According to the mother of one of the soldiers, a forensic examination found that the signatures on the documents most likely did not belong to them. Within ten days, the servicemen will have their conscript status restored; the case files are currently under investigation. Earlier, the conscripts said that after being assigned to their units, they wrote reports requesting a transfer to another unit at a lieutenant’s suggestion, but they did not sign any contracts. Nevertheless, some time later, large sums from the Ministry of Defense—just over 2 million rubles [$25,900]—were deposited into their bank accounts. According to relatives, at least ten conscripts received such payments, and none of them had signed contracts.

Twenty-seven-year-old serviceman Daniil Litovsky from Saint Petersburg was detained in the Belgorod region five days after fleeing from a combat mission. Litovsky turned himself in at a military commandant’s office and said he had deserted because he was afraid. It is not yet known whether a criminal case has been opened against him.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

In Murmansk, authorities detained a 46-year-old serviceman with Russia’s Northern Fleet who, according to preliminary information, attacked and raped his 26-year-old daughter in an apartment. The suspect’s identity has not been disclosed.

A court in Novosibirsk sentenced Private Radik Nuritdinov to 13 years in a special-regime penal colony on a murder charge. While intoxicated, Nuritdinov got into an argument with another man and stabbed him in the chest. Nuritdinov had previously been convicted of causing minor and grievous bodily harm, and in 2023 was sentenced to nine years and two months in a special-regime penal colony for killing and burning a person. It is likely that he signed a contract with the MoD while serving that sentence.

In Khakassia [Russia’s constituent republic], a 38-year-old resident of Krasnoyarsk and two women aged 45 and 54 were detained on suspicion of fraud. According to investigators, no later than June 2025 they persuaded a resident of the Krasnoyarsk region to enter into a sham marriage with the 54-year-old woman, purportedly to increase his military payments. After he signed a contract, the suspects convinced him—under the pretext of safeguarding the funds—to open a bank account and hand over the card to them, into which the payments were to be deposited. The group allegedly stole about 700,000 rubles [$9,070].

The Supreme Court of Russia’s constituent Republic of Tatarstan overturned a guilty verdict and acquitted a conscript whom a district court had previously fined 30,000 rubles [$390] for draft evasion. On appeal, the court found that the conscript’s two failures to appear in response to draft notices were due to illness confirmed by documentation. Even though he did not notify the military commissariat in advance, the illness itself constituted a valid excuse. In addition, the draft decision had been appealed and was subject to a follow-up medical examination, but the conscript had not been properly served with a summons for it. Meanwhile, criminal liability applies only to failure to appear for a medical examination, a draft board session or deployment to a duty station.

Maksim Davydov, a human rights activist from Russian-occupied Donetsk who has been defending the rights of mobilized soldiers, has been released after being detained for five days on Feb. 4, and then detained again. Davydov said he was sent to a police station for "identification." FSB employees also arrived at the police station, including a person who had previously abducted Davydov in April 2025. Earlier, investigators attempted to have Davydov declared legally insane in a criminal case related to the alleged use of a knowingly false document, but a psychiatric examination found him to be sane.

In Saransk, in Russia’s constituent Republic of Mordovia, nine Ukrainian prisoners of war were convicted within one week. Among them were soldiers of the Azov Brigade, including Maksym Rudia, Ivan Kozirod, Ihor Kravets, Ruslan Shevchenko, Denys Krygulskiy, Maksym Lutiy and Bohdan Trofimiuk, as well as soldiers of the Donbas Battalion, including Vasyl Lomakin and Maksym Litvin. All the PoWs were accused of training in terrorism and participating in a terrorist organization. The sentences have not yet been announced.

In the Altai region [Russia’s federal subject], an 18-year-old woman from Biysk has been sent to a pre-trial detention center in a case related to an attempt on a terrorist attack. According to investigators, "while looking for work, she accepted an offer from an unknown person through a messenger app." On the evening of Jan. 23, she bought gasoline at a gas station and attempted to set fire to a relay cabinet on the railway on the outskirts of Biysk, but was detained. The incident did not disrupt train traffic. In a video filmed after her arrest, she stated that a person who identified themselves as an "investigator" had contacted her and transferred 5,000 rubles [$65] to cover travel and gasoline expenses.

In Perm, 19-year-old student Andrey Kuptsov, who set fire to an ATM in December 2024 on the instructions of fraudsters, has been sentenced to two years on probation for deliberate damage to property. The scammers reportedly defrauded him of 90,000 rubles [$1,170] before coercing him into committing the arson. The court acknowledged that Kuptsov had been under psychological pressure.

A 19-year-old Moscow resident was sentenced to five years in a penal colony on charges of intended treason, joining a terrorist organization, justifying terrorism online and spreading false information about the army. Investigators determined that from November 2023 to March 2024, he posted comments in support of the Freedom of Russia Legion, and between February and July 2024, he submitted an application to join the unit. The young man was detained while attempting to leave for Georgia. His name and other case details have not been disclosed.

A court sentenced Dmitry Khasyanov to six years in prison on charges of public calls for terrorism and attempting to join a terrorist organization. According to investigators, in May 2024, Khasyanov posted a comment in the Russian Volunteer Corps' Telegram channel that the court deemed as justifying the activities of a terrorist organization. In August 2025, he allegedly began corresponding with a representative of the unit, submitted a "candidate" application and awaited further instructions. Khasyanov was detained on Aug. 29 of the same year.

A case involving "confidential" cooperation with foreigners has been submitted to the Supreme Court of Dagestan against 24-year-old IT specialist Mirzabeg Murtazaliev from the village of Botlikh. The exact charges against Murtazaliev are unknown. Based on his online activity, he appears to have been detained no earlier than February 2025.

Dmitry Dushin, a 35-year-old engineer from Russia’s Vladimir region, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of treason, online calls undermining state security and financing terrorism. According to investigators, he transferred cryptocurrency to an account that was raising funds to purchase weapons and drones for the Ukrainian army, "as well as to carry out sabotage activities on Russian territory."

A 46-year-old resident of the Russian-occupied part of the Kherson region and Ukrainian citizen Olena Kosenko has been sentenced to 10 years in a penal colony on espionage charges. Russian law enforcement alleges that in April 2024 she collected information about the movements of Russian troops and passed it to Ukrainian intelligence.

69-year-old Svetlana Loy from the occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region has been sentenced to 15 years in a penal colony in a treason case. According to prosecutors, in 2024 the elderly woman, who "held anti-Russian views" and retained Ukrainian citizenship despite receiving a Russian passport in December 2023, made 24 transfers via a Ukrainian banking application in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for a total amount equivalent to 63,420 rubles [$820].

Assistance

The authorities in Yurga and Anzhero-Sudzhensk have discontinued the full kindergarten fee waiver for families of soldiers fighting in Ukraine. Now, parents must pay 75 percent and 50 percent of tuition costs, respectively. At the same time, 100 percent compensation will remain in place for the children of servicemen who were killed or are missing. Officials in Yurga justified this decision by budgetary constraints, while sources in the regional government clarified that similar fee waivers could also be canceled in other Kuzbass cities.

Longreads

The Idel.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet told the story of Aleksandr Eisner, a volunteer fighter from the Bashkir Shaimuratov Battalion, who in one year turned from a television star into a criminal sentenced to eight and a half years for murder.