Mobilization in Russia for July 11-12, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

Vadim Dragomiretskiy, a former Rosgvardia [the Russian National Guard] Major General, who had been convicted to nine and a half years in a maximum security penal colony for taking bribes, has submitted a petition to be sent to fight in Ukraine. His subordinates, who had also been convicted of bribery, have submitted similar petitions.

Two families of Indian nationals killed in the war against Ukraine have started receiving compensation as a result of negotiations between the Russian and Indian leaders.

Irina Ivanova, deputy head of the Pskov city administration, signed a resolution to use money from its reserve fund to encourage those who recruit "volunteer fighters" for the war against Ukraine. The authorities plan to pay bonuses to draft office employees in the Pskov and its surrounding district, as well as to employees of the Regional Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Such financial incentives also exist in other regions, including in Russia’s constituent republics of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan and in the Orlov region.

Military officials tricked and forced a 22-year-old conscript from Ust-Ilimsk to conclude a contract with the Ministry of Defense only a week into his statutory military service.

Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers

The list of mobilized soldiers killed in the war has been updated to include Denis Paramonov from the Pskov region and Yevgeny Komarov from the Altai region [Russia’s federal subject].

Based on open sources, Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] and BBC News Russian, in collaboration with volunteers, have confirmed the deaths of 59,168 people in the war with Ukraine. Over the past week, the list has been updated with the names of 961 soldiers. This week, journalists did not report the number of mobilized soldiers who have died.

An 18-year-old resident of Vladimir, Saveliy Vasilyev, was taken prisoner. He had signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense to avoid criminal prosecution. Vasilyev, who had not completed statutory military service, said that the draft office promised him he wouldn't be sent to fight. However, he was sent into combat without any prior training or military preparation. He also tried unsuccessfully to terminate the contract. Meanwhile, authorities in the Vladimir region are concealing the fact that local residents are being held captive.

The relatives of Rishat Shakurov, a 37-year-old contract soldier from Tatarstan, claim that after he was wounded, he was tied to a tree, starved for days, and tortured to force a confession of a self-inflicted wound. Fellow soldiers informed his sister that after the torture, Shakurov attempted to escape but was captured and handed over to the military police. According to the latest information, Shakurov spent more than ten days in a pit and was recently moved to a basement for refuseniks in the village of Zaitseve. He has not been heard from since. His sister has unsuccessfully sought help from the Military Prosecutor's Office in the cities of Kazan and Donetsk and from the Main Military Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] deputy Ayrat Farrakhov also sent an appeal to these authorities.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

In Moscow, 59-year-old Sergey F. has been detained on suspicion of arson on a railway. A criminal case has been initiated against him on charges of committing an act of terror.

Contract soldier Aleksey Zhuravlyov from the city of Cheboksary shot three fellow soldiers at a military unit in the village of Kozinka in the Belgorod region and fled with a weapon.

Serviceman Afanasy Sannikov has been sentenced to 10 years in a maximum security penal colony for desertion and causing grievous bodily harm resulting in death.

An ex-convict from the Wagner Group has been fined 5,000 rubles [$57] for assaulting a woman who refused to talk to him.

A court in Saint Petersburg has sentenced local resident Vladimir Mironov to four years of imprisonment for smashing the windows of a draft office.

Participant in the invasion Aleksandr Borodin has been sentenced to nine years of imprisonment for assaulting his ex-wife to death.

In Crimea, the Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained another Ukrainian for allegedly working for the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. He is charged with espionage. According to the FSB, he was planning to provide the Main Intelligence Directorate with information about the Russian Armed Forces.

A criminal case has been initiated against a resident of the town of Kovrov, Vladimir region, for anti-war posts and attempting to fight on the side of Ukraine.

Another criminal case has been initiated against a 50-year-old resident of the town of Morozovsk, Rostov region, for attempting to set fire to a draft office in November 2023. If found guilty, the accused faces up to seven years of imprisonment.

Assistance

The Ministry of Defense of Russia reported that volunteers from Moscow sent 50 first aid kits, 500 trench candles, and camouflage nets to Russian soldiers. Additionally, officials from the Kirov region, along with bailiffs, delivered three off-road vehicles to the frontline.

Children and Educational System

Students from School No. 151 and participants in the Young Army [pro-Kremlin youth organization] militarized education program in the Murmansk region sent postcards and letters to soldiers in the combat zone.

In the Khanty-Mansi autonomous region–Yugra [Russia's federal subject], children will be taught "history and patriotism" through the new immersive museum "The Frontline."

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov announced the completion of the first session of the "Academy of Friendship of Peoples AKHMAT" children's militaristic summer camp.

Mikhail Semenishchev from Chita, after returning from the war, opened a kindergarten and now works with children.

Nastoyashcheye Vremya [Current Time, an editorially independent US-funded Russian language media outlet] published an article on the structure of militarized summer camps and clubs in Russia.

Miscellaneous

Igor Tsgoev, a former Wagner Group mercenary and commander of the Storm.Ossetia battalion, topped the list of candidates for the Vladikavkaz city council.

In Vladimir, flower beds supporting the military invasion of Ukraine will be installed, with a pedestal featuring the letters "Z" and "V" purchased for 249,000 rubles [$2,850].

The Mozhem Ob'yasnit [We Can Explain] Telegram channel discovered that authorities in at least 13 regions plan to spend 217 million rubles [$2.49 million] on decorating the graves of "special military operation heroes."

In Buryatia [Russia's constituent republic], funds from the Culture Fund were allocated for an album of 10 propaganda songs as part of the "Talented People" project.

Due to the shortage of labor caused by mobilization and the mass emigration of Russians, Rostov-on-Don has started hiring convicts to work at a municipal company.

Longreads

Public Sociology Lab (PS Lab) has published a unique ethnographic study exploring Russian attitudes toward the full-scale war in Ukraine.

The Vyorstka media outlet interviewed a veteran of the war in Ukraine who traveled from Moscow to Donetsk to visit his mother with a birthday gift, only to end up on the frontline.

Novaya Gazeta, an independent Russian newspaper, reported on what is known about the minors on the list of "extremists and terrorists" of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service of the Russian Federation (Rosfinmonitoring) — there are more than 50 minors on the list.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty spoke with experts about how Russian society is trying to protect itself from veterans returning from the frontline in Ukraine.

The Lyudi Baikala [People of Baikal] independent media outlet] released a report on Russian NGOs fighting domestic violence that receive state support.