Mobilization in Russia for Jan. 9-12, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
The human rights organization Shkola Prizyvnika [Conscript School] reports that authorities may have finally launched the Unified Military Register [digital system to identify citizens subject to military service and serve draft notices], citing a 30-year-old man from the Moscow region as the first documented example of restrictions imposed by a draft office. When he tried to obtain registration plates for his car from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, officials declined his application because he could not provide a military ID or a military registration certificate. The man believed he was not listed on the military rolls. In the written refusal, a traffic police inspector referred to "a decision listed in the Unified Register [...] that applies temporary measures to ensure compliance with a draft notice." The document did not specify which draft office imposed the restrictions or when they were enacted. By law, the draft office should have notified the man through the Gosuslugi public services portal about the measures if he failed to appear after receiving a draft notice. However, he claims he never received any summons, notifications or warnings. According to Shkola Prizyvnika, this could be the first official document indicating that the Unified Military Register is operational. However, they stress they cannot confirm this without additional public records or official statements. They also note that even before the register’s rollout, existing legislation allowed authorities to enforce temporary measures without using the system.
In related news, the Mozhem Ob'yasnit [We Can Explain] Telegram channel pointed to a government resolution that extended financing for the launch of the Unified Military Register by one year. The cabinet of ministers published the document on Dec. 24, 2024, and revised the final deadline for concluding contracts related to the register’s development from Dec. 31, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2025.
According to the Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods/Get lost you all] Telegram channel, personal data of the parents of pre-conscription youth is being collected for military commissariats [enlistment offices]. Parents reported that schools and colleges distributed questionnaires to pass on their information to draft offices. These forms requested details such as phone numbers, parents' workplaces, the mother's maiden name and grandparents' pension amounts. However, draft offices have no legal right to request this information. The exhaustive list of required data for military registration is specified in the Military Conscription and Military Service Act.
In the city of Krasnoyarsk, law enforcement officers conducted a raid, resulting in 11 men who had obtained Russian citizenship being taken to draft offices for military registration.
Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers
BBC News Russian, in collaboration with Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] and a team of volunteers, has identified the names of 88,055 Russian soldiers who were killed during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including 10,397 mobilized soldiers. In the three weeks since the previous update, the list has grown by 3,294 names, including 292 mobilized soldiers. According to BBC journalists, the actual Russian death toll could be between 135,470 and 195,678. Additionally, 21,000 to 23,500 soldiers fighting against Ukraine as part of the forces of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics" have been killed. Over nearly three years of war, Russia has lost at least 6,083 "valuable specialists," including career servicemen from units such as the Russian Airborne Troops, naval infantry units, special forces of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU) and military pilots. Among the dead are also 4,595 Russian officers. These losses have significantly undermined the combat effectiveness of the Russian army, resulting in further increases in casualties.
Relatives of Vladislav Belonogov, a 19-year-old conscript from Krasnoyarsk, have submitted a statement to the Military Prosecutor's Office and an appeal to Putin following the conscript's death while serving in a military unit in the Moscow region. Belonogov was conscripted on Dec. 6 and assigned to the 1st Tank Regiment of the 2nd Motorized Rifle Division for statutory military service. He arrived at the unit on Dec. 12. By Dec. 16, he had expressed concerns about his health during a phone call with his family, mentioning a persistent heavy cough. Belonogov visited a doctor twice; however, he was threatened with detention on a third visit. A preliminary diagnosis of pneumonia was made, but he was only provided fever-reducing medications. On Dec. 29, the day of the military oath, Belonogov was seen shaking during roll call before losing consciousness, as reported by fellow soldiers. On Dec. 30, his family received a phone call from the military unit informing them of his death. The family claims that in a conversation with them, the company commander also cited meningitis as the cause of death. Belonogov's close ones noted that a few days after his death, messages in which he had complained about his health were deleted. Furthermore, his correspondence with his parents disappeared without a trace.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
A Russian soldier who returned home from the frontline has committed suicide after struggling with mental health issues. The body of 56-year-old Andrey V., who had returned from Ukraine, was found hanging from a chandelier in his apartment in Perm. After returning from the war, Andrey began to experience mental health problems. The exact reason for his suicide remains unclear. Previously, he had been convicted of car theft. It is possible that he was deployed to the war against Ukraine from a penal colony.
A first-year student at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology has committed suicide under pressure from scammers who tried to force him to carry out an act of terror. The body of 18-year-old Pyotr Vetchinkin was discovered on the evening of Dec. 21. According to the Ostorozhno, Novosti [Beware the News] Telegram channel, Vetchinkin had been in constant contact with the scammers since around noon that day. At 5:55 p.m., he left his home and stopped responding to messages. At approximately 8:00 p.m., his body was found near a high-rise building a few blocks from his home. His death was the result of a fall from a height.
Yevgeny Denishenko, a previously convicted participant in the war against Ukraine from the Rostov region, has been sentenced to one year and nine months in a maximum-security penal colony for making death threats against a female acquaintance and assaulting a police officer. During sentencing, the court considered his participation in the war against Ukraine and the award he received as mitigating factors.
Mobilized soldier Vladislav E. has been sentenced to two years of probation for being absent without leave for five days. In late May 2024, while in a combat zone, he left for his home in the Pskov region. He later voluntarily surrendered to investigators. In court, he pleaded guilty and expressed no desire to return to the frontline.
Since late last year, Russia has seen a surge in desertion charges, accompanied by significant changes in how these cases are prosecuted. Legal experts have observed a more aggressive application of laws related to desertion. According to the Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] Telegram channel, proving intent to permanently evade military service was previously a prerequisite for pressing desertion charges, regardless of the length of absence. However, military investigators have reportedly been instructed to classify cases of extended unauthorized absences—those exceeding nine months—as desertion, even in the absence of clear evidence of intent to permanently evade service.
Authorities in Vyborg have launched a terrorism investigation following a Jan. 9 fire at a facility belonging to a fund that collects aid for soldiers on the frontline. The fire destroyed the fund’s property. Among those detained was an eighth-grader, accused of filming the aftermath of the fire in exchange for a promised payment of 5,000 rubles [$49]. According to investigators, the boy was supposed to deliver the footage to a 48-year-old local man, who was also detained. While the teenager was released after questioning, the adult remains in custody, facing charges of petty hooliganism and discrediting the Armed Forces. The Astra Telegram channel reported that an anonymous person claimed responsibility for the arson, calling it a pro-Ukrainian act of sabotage. The self-proclaimed organizer alleged that the 48-year-old detainee, identified as Dmitry, carried out the act with the intent to destroy resources meant for the war effort. Dmitry was allegedly promised 150,000 rubles [$1,470] for the operation, which he was supposed to carry out alone, but enlisted the teenager to document the event.
Federal Security Service (FSB) officers have detained two teenagers in Kuzbass on suspicion of arson and attempted arson of mobile operator stations. Reports indicate the teenagers acted in exchange for a promised payment of 100,000 rubles [$980] from unknown individuals. The teenagers successfully set fire to one tower and a vehicle, while their attempt to burn a second tower failed.
The FSB department in the "DPR" has announced the detention of a resident of the occupied town of Yenakiieve. According to the intelligence service, the suspect repeatedly transferred money to electronic accounts to fund the Armed Forces of Ukraine. A criminal case for high treason has been initiated against him.
According to the TASS [Russian state-owned news agency] report, citing the FSB, a man was detained in the "LPR" for allegedly passing information about the location of Russian military personnel to Kyiv. The news agency provided no further details.
The Southern District Military Court sentenced Konstantin Gorpinchenko, a resident of Sevastopol, to 11 years in prison on charges of attempted act of terror and "confidential" cooperation with foreigners for his unsuccessfully attempt to set fire to two relay cabinets in September 2023. The FSB reported the man's arrest a year later, on Nov. 12, 2024.
As reported by Mediazona, V. A. Kashin, a resident of Buryatia [Russia's constituent republic], was sentenced to 13 years in a maximum-security penal colony on charges of state treason. According to the prosecution, Kashin induced Russian soldiers to voluntarily surrender.
Assistance
In Novosibirsk, volunteers are making camouflage nets out of wedding dresses sent to them from various regions of Russia. Meanwhile, the pro-government All-Russian People's Front movement in Irkutsk has announced an urgent fundraiser to buy slippers, hygiene products and underwear for a local hospital treating wounded soldiers.
From May to December 2024, Russians transferred more than 4,300 units of personal firearms for the war, according to calculations by the Vyorstka media outlet, which analyzed press releases from the Rosgvardia (the Russian National Guard) and media reports. The weapons sent to the frontlines include both voluntarily surrendered firearms and those confiscated from illegal owners. In total, as of December last year, at least 4,700 weapons have been delivered to the military since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Children and Educational System
A rural school in Bashkortostan [Russia's constituent republic] reported hosting a sports tournament in honor of Almaz Akhmadullin, a graduate who was killed in Ukraine while serving with the Wagner Group.
The first "Talking About Important Things" lesson of 2025 [a compulsory lesson held every Monday in schools across the country], held on Jan. 13 (Russian Press Day), will guide students to the conclusion that war correspondents, like soldiers, are defenders of their country. High school teachers are also encouraged to discuss quotes from war correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny about working in conflict zones and building camaraderie with soldiers.
Miscellaneous
It has come to light that the list of missing residents from the Kursk region, previously published by Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Tatyana Moskalkova, contains numerous errors and inaccuracies. Residents of the region, along with former regional advisor and military correspondent Roman Alyokhin, highlighted these issues in the comments section of the ombudsman’s post, after which the comment section was disabled. The list includes discrepancies, such as a pregnant woman, Nina Kuznetsova, who was killed near the town of Sudzha on Aug. 6, as well as entries like "Grandpa of M.N. Shakhov," "Uncle of M.P. Tkachev" and "Mother of S.N. Klimenko." Some entries lack specific details, listing only vague descriptions like "girl," "Belarusian citizen" or "residents of the village of Guyevo." An investigation by the Agentstvo [Agency] independent media outlet revealed that some individuals on the list were never missing, while others had already been found by their families. Conversely, many genuinely missing people were not included. A Kursk region resident, Lyubov Prilutskaya, recorded a video address to the ombudsman and regional governor Alexander Khinshtein. She stated that her request to report her missing parents had been ignored, just as an earlier plea to establish a humanitarian corridor for 3,000 residents of Sudzha, trapped under occupation, had been dismissed. Prilutskaya later appealed again to Khinshtein and Moskalkova, demanding a meeting with relatives of the missing by Jan. 20 and calling for the establishment of a "green corridor" to facilitate evacuations. Following the uproar, Moskalkova thanked the public for their "attention to her work" and reported receiving 70 requests to amend or supplement the published list. Khinshtein explained that the list of missing civilians was compiled solely from submitted reports. He stated that if relatives or close acquaintances had not filed a report, the person’s name would not appear on the list. Khinshtein added that, between August 2024 and Jan. 10, 2025, the police received 1,174 reports of missing persons, of which 240 individuals had already been found.