Mobilization in Russia for Jan. 25-27, 2026 CIT Volunteer Summary
Army Recruitment
Ufa City Hall set the one-time municipal bonus for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense at 300,000 rubles [$3,920]. Although the city had offered 700,000 rubles [$9,150] beginning in January 2025, Bashkortostan Governor Radiy Khabirov reduced the amount to 100,000 rubles [$1,310] by decree in December. The new rate applies to contracts signed on or after Jan. 1, 2026. With the inclusion of a 1 million-ruble [$13,100] regional component and a 400,000-ruble [$5,230] federal component, recruits enlisting in Ufa will now receive 1.7 million rubles [$22,200].
Officials in the Samara region increased the reward for assisting in the recruitment of contract soldiers, raising the payment from the 100,000 rubles [$1,310] established in October 2024 to 114,943 rubles [$1,500]. This reward applies to individuals who "facilitate a candidate’s arrival at a draft office or recruitment center to sign a contract" between Jan. 25 and May 9, 2026. To finance this measure, authorities reallocated 256.2 million rubles [$3.35 million] originally designated for childbirth and childcare benefits.
Vyorstka, a media outlet, obtained a copy of a supplemental agreement included in new Ministry of Defense contracts for unmanned systems operators that introduces a clause allowing for discharge after one year of service. The document stipulates that commanders cannot transfer a UAV operator to another role without consent and that soldiers may leave upon contract expiration unless they choose to extend. However, sources among recruiters, military law experts and recruiting center staff told the publication that even explicit contract terms offer little guarantee, as outcomes depend on directives from above or relationships with superiors. Alexey Tabalov, head of Shkola Prizyvnika [Conscript School, a human rights organization], noted that asserting the unconditional priority of contract clauses is impossible while Vladimir Putin’s mobilization decree remains in force. Authorities have actively marketed service in unmanned systems forces to students and young men since the start of the year, promising improved conditions and guaranteed discharge upon contract completion.
A man suspected of raping a schoolgirl left for the war from the Tyumen region. Initially, the suspect was held in a pre-trial detention center, but he was later released on recognizance, after which he was able to travel to the city of Voronezh, sign a contract with the MoD, and thereby avoid punishment. Although the article on rape prohibits signing a military contract for those who are convicted or under investigation, the Military Prosecutor’s Office stated that since the man had no criminal record on the date of his application, there were no legal obstacles to signing the contract.
Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts
The Lyudi Baikala [People of Baikal] independent media outlet reported that since the beginning of 2026, a second killed in the war representative of the small Tofalar indigenous ethnic group, Sergey Tokuyev, has been identified. Like the previous casualty, he was 18 years old: he turned 18 on June 20, 2025, and was killed on Dec. 31 in fighting for the town of Pokrovsk.
A 59-year-old Moscow resident, Aleksandr, who suffers from diabetes and is suspected of having cancer, was declared fit for military service and may be sent to a combat zone. According to his relatives, the unemployed man was recruited with promises of a job assembling UAVs in the city of Novorossiysk, a sign-up bonus of 2 million rubles [$26,100], and a salary of 250,000 rubles [$3,270]. To do so, he was required to sign a contract with the MoD and undergo a medical evaluation. After passing the medical board, Aleksandr was sent to a training unit in the Kursk region, where his condition worsened. He was hospitalized, and doctors there suspected a lung tumor. Despite this, at the end of January he was discharged and sent to the 346th Motorized Rifle Regiment, where preparations began to deploy him to the frontline.
In Vologda, authorities detained 28-year-old National Bolshevik activist Vladimir Rodionov on charges of going AWOL. At the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, he served for about six months as a volunteer with the so-called "people’s militia of the DPR," but was denied an official deployment to the frontline due to a diagnosis of "acute schizotypal disorder." A military medical board classified him as service fitness category "D", unfit for military service. Rodionov returned to Vologda, but in the summer of 2023, when he attempted to go to the war through another volunteer unit, it emerged that he was already listed as a mobilized soldier with the "DPR." According to relatives, Rodionov was detained at a military commissariat, where he had gone to seek the removal of the AWOL charge. He was then taken to a contract recruitment center, where he was told to contact the Military Prosecutor’s Office. From there, he was taken away by unidentified men "without insignia" and has not been in contact since. His family believes Rodionov is being held at the military commandant’s office in the city of Cherepovets and is awaiting transfer to a military unit.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
Novaya Gazeta Europe [European edition of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta] has released a visual project titled "The House the War Came To," which compiles all known information about "civilian" crimes committed by participants in the war. According to the outlet, more than 8,000 veterans—contract soldiers, mobilized troops and mercenaries—have been convicted since 2022. About 7,000 of them had already been discharged from service at the time they committed their crimes, while nearly 1,000 were still on active duty. At least 900 were convicted of violent crimes that resulted in the deaths of at least 423 people, including 52 victims of domestic violence. Overall, veterans do not commit crimes more frequently than men with similar social backgrounds, but they are twice as likely to be prosecuted for murder and for causing grievous bodily harm. In addition to violent offenses, common crimes include theft and car theft, traffic violations, drug-related offenses and fraud. At least 27% of those convicted had criminal records prior to the war; 656 of them went to the frontline directly from penal colonies and were later pardoned. Around 40% of defendants had received combat awards, which courts often treat as mitigating circumstances. As a result, 34% of servicemen received more lenient sentences than the average defendant without military experience, while only 15% received harsher punishments. Judges generally send former servicemen to penal colonies less often, except in cases involving serious violent crimes. The number of such cases has been rising each year: about 2,500 reached court in 2023, compared with more than 4,700 in 2024. In December 2025, Vyorstka calculated that veterans returning from the frontline had killed or maimed more than 1,000 people.
In the Sverdlovsk region, a court in Nizhny Tagil has sentenced Andrey Masharov, a previously convicted former Wagner Group mercenary, to nine years in a maximum security penal colony for murder. According to investigators, Masharov stabbed an acquaintance to death during a drinking session on May 14, 2025. He went to war from a penal colony.
In the Khabarovsk region, a military court in Krasnorechensk fined Maksim Kildyushkin, a war participant with a prior criminal record, 180,000 rubles [$2,350] for physical assault. Kildyushkin attacked an elderly woman when she refused to lend him 250 rubles [$3.27], knocking out her tooth. The case was initially investigated as robbery but was later reclassified by the court to a lesser charge. Kildyushkin had been recruited to the war from a penal colony. While at the front, he sustained injuries that led to the amputation of his leg and was discharged for health reasons.
A mobilized soldier serving in a naval infantry unit was sentenced to 1.5 years in a penal settlement for going AWOL. The serviceman left his military unit for personal reasons and, four days later, sought legal counsel because he wanted to receive a real prison sentence to avoid returning to the unit due to a conflict with his commander. Acting on his lawyers’ advice, he turned himself in to the military investigation department and confessed. A criminal case was opened, resulting in the custodial sentence he had sought.
In the Novosibirsk region, a 15-year-old teenager has been detained on suspicion of sabotage. According to investigators, in January an unknown individual contacted the teenager via a messaging app and offered him money to set fire to a cell tower. The teenager agreed and set fire to equipment in the village of Gorny in the Toguchinsky district. He was soon detained and placed under arrest.
In the Kemerovo region, a 17-year-old will stand trial on charges of preparing an act of terror and treason. According to investigators, in May 2025 the teenager received an offer via social media to set fire to a diesel locomotive in exchange for money. He was detained while attempting the arson near the Prokopyevsk railway station. His case has been brought to court.
A month and a half after their detention, details have emerged about the case against Artyom, Aleksey and Tatyana Nazarov, who are charged with preparing an act of terror as a group. Law enforcement officers allege that in September 2025, Tatyana made contact with a representative of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Acting on his instructions, she and her two brothers photographed relay cabinets near railway tracks at a factory in the city of Yekaterinburg, after which they were allegedly offered money to set fire to one of them.
Andrey Vitovtov, a river fleet captain from Barnaul who was sentenced to six years in a penal colony in the fall of 2024 for justifying terrorism, has again been charged with justifying terrorism as well as treason. The new case was brought to court on Jan. 15, with investigators not disclosing the substance of the charges. Vitovtov's wife had previously said that her husband faced treason charges before, but the Federal Security Service (FSB) dropped them at that time due to lack of evidence.
Bogdan Protazanov, a 15-year-old resident of Vyborg, has been sentenced to five and a half years of imprisonment on charges of committing an act of terror. According to the court, in April 2025, when the teenager was 14 years old, he was contacted by unknown individuals who presented themselves as officers of Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB. The scammers, threatening harm to his parents, forced him to transfer money to them and then demanded that he buy gasoline and set fire to a relay cabinet, instructing him to record the act via video call. Protazanov lit a fire near the cabinet but extinguished it almost immediately. The damage caused by his actions was estimated at 5,000 rubles [$65]. The teenager was detained the next day, and later law enforcement officers published a video of his interrogation containing his confessions and apologies.
The Krasnodar Regional Court has sentenced local resident Arsanali Mutukov to 12 years of imprisonment on charges of sabotage and attempted sabotage. According to the court, in March 2024, on instructions from handlers via a messenger, Mutukov set fire to two railway relay cabinets in Krasnodar, recording his actions on video. He received 33,000 rubles [$430] for the first arson attack and 35,000 rubles [$460] for the second.
The Central District Military Court in Yekaterinburg has sentenced 47-year-old Eduard Markov, a resident of Balashov in the Saratov region, to three and a half years in a penal settlement in a case related to an attempt on damage to another person’s property. Initially, Markov was charged with an act of terror, for which the prosecution sought 12 years in a maximum security penal colony. However, the court ultimately reclassified the charge. According to investigators, in the early hours of Dec. 23, 2024, Markov, while intoxicated, threw three Molotov cocktails at an MTS telecommunications tower. Markov later claimed that he only intended to disable the tower, believing its radiation to be harmful to health. The court took into account his willingness to "go to the special military operation."
The 2nd Western District Military Court has sentenced 25-year-old Andrey Byzov to 18 years in prison on charges concerning preparing an act of terror, justifying terrorism online and participation in a terrorist organization. According to prosecutors, between December 2024 and January 2025, Byzov posted online comments in support of the Russian Volunteer Corps. In March 2025, he allegedly applied to join the unit via a chatbot and subsequently began monitoring the movement of Russian military vehicles and personnel. On April 12, Byzov received coordinates for a dead drop containing an improvised explosive device prepared for a terrorist attack on May 9 against an air-defense facility in the Moscow region. He was allegedly promised $5,000 in cryptocurrency for carrying out the attack but was detained on May 5.
Twenty-six-year-old Timur Peletskis was sentenced to 22 years in prison on charges of sabotage as part of an organized group, preparation for sabotage, attempted sabotage, undergoing training for the purpose of carrying out sabotage activities, participation in a terrorist organization and high treason. The court ruled that since 2023, Peletskis had been corresponding on Telegram with a representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, and under their instructions, he set fire to two telecom base stations in the Irkutsk region from Dec. 28-29, 2023. He later allegedly agreed to target relay cabinets. Peletskis was detained in May 2024 and additionally accused of gathering information about the area surrounding a draft office in Irkutsk, as well as attempting to join the Freedom of Russia Legion.
The Supreme Court of Udmurtia [Russia's constituent republic] has sentenced a 44-year-old resident of the town of Mozhga to 18 years in prison on a charge of treason. According to prosecutors, in November 2024 he allegedly contacted an officer of the Main Directorate of Intelligence and, acting on instructions, photographed and filmed a "government building," the surrounding area and cars parked nearby that belonged to employees. Authorities did not disclose which government institution was involved, and the defendant’s name has not been made public. He reportedly received 10,000 rubles [$130].
Assistance
As reported by the independent outlet Faridaily, in late December 2025 Sergey Novikov, chief of the Presidential Directorate for Social Projects, said that about 250,000 soldiers who had returned from the war were unemployed. His remarks were published by RIA Novosti, Russian state-owned news agency, but the article was later edited after the information was deemed negative: the figure was replaced with the wording "tens of thousands." A source cited by Faridaily said the change was made "after a call from above." A government source said the figure of 250,000 was approximate but broadly accurate.
Longreads
The Insider, an independent Russian investigative media outlet, published a report on widespread violence committed by Russian soldiers against women living in border areas of Belgorod region.
The Sibir.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet reported that Russian authorities are concealing the true scale of war-related disabilities, leaving injured soldiers without adequate rehabilitation and support.