Mobilization in Russia for June 21-23, 2026 CIT Volunteer Summary

Army Recruitment

Authorities in Chuvashia [Russia’s constituent republic] have increased the regional sign-up bonus by 600,000 rubles [$8,110], raising it from 2.5 million rubles [$33,800] to 3.1 million rubles [$41,900]. The higher payment applies to all contracts signed on or after June 22. Including the national bonus of 400,000 rubles [$5,400], recruits signing contracts in Chuvashia can now receive up to 3.5 million rubles [$47,300] in upfront payments. The decree specifies, however, that the increase does not apply to individuals recruited from penal colonies.

Aleksandr Drozdenko, governor of Leningrad region, has introduced a payment of 250,000 rubles [$3,380] for joining the region's mobile fire teams, which are tasked with defending against UAV attacks. In addition, reservists will receive a salary starting at 200,000 rubles [$2,700], a bonus of 100,000 rubles [$1,350] for each UAV shot down, and an extra 10,000 rubles [$140] for every day spent on combat duty. The contract also provides mandatory life and health insurance coverage worth 2 million rubles [$27,000]. Men up to the age of 62 are eligible to sign up, although the maximum age varies depending on military rank.

Students at a Moscow college were offered what organizers described as an "alternative service agreement." In late May, staff members overseeing the students gathered them for a meeting and encouraged them to sign a 12-month contract, promising that outstanding debts and loans would be settled and that they would be allowed to receive their diplomas. According to those promoting the offer, the service would take place "near Moscow or somewhere like that" away from the frontline and would involve countering UAVs. It later emerged, however, that the agreement in question was actually a contract to serve in BARS-Moscow, a volunteer reserve formation.

In Karachay-Cherkessia [Russia’s constituent republic], kindergarten employees have been enlisted to promote contracts with the MoD. In one video published on the Telegram channel of the administration of Malokarachayevsky district, a kindergarten employee urges men to sign contracts and outlines the social benefits available to contract servicemen and their families.

On Telegram, a channel and chat where residents of cities in the Penza region warned one another about roundups in the region were deleted. At the time of its closure, the chat had about 1,200 users, who sent videos and information about the locations of police cars and patrols detaining men. Now the link leads not to the channel but to a redirect into a private channel. The reason for the deletion is unknown.

Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts

Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet], together with BBC News Russian and a team of volunteers, has managed, using open-source data, to establish the names of 227,680 Russian soldiers killed since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including 19,158 mobilized soldiers. In the week since the previous update, the list grew by 1,625 names. As the journalists note, a seasonal pattern can already be traced in the statistics: losses steadily climb toward the end of the year, and every December has set a record for deaths. In the summer, by contrast, there is a relative decline.

In the Kursk region, a 20-year-old conscript soldier died from a round to the head — Maksim Mironov, from the Ural town of Rezh. Mironov was drafted from the Sverdlovsk region on Oct. 22, 2025, and sent to serve in Naro-Fominsk, outside Moscow. On April 25, he called his mother and told her that he was being forced to sign a contract with the MoD. As an alternative to contract military service, he was offered a transfer to the border in the Kursk region as a conscript. Mironov refused the contract, and by April 30, he found himself in the border area. There, his phone was taken from him; before his death, he managed to reach his family only three times, telling them that he had ended up in a good, quiet place. On May 15, however, an unknown major called Mironov's mother and told her that her son had died. The family filed complaints with the Investigative Committee, the MoD, the Military Prosecutor's Office, and other authorities. On May 27, the family received a death notice for Maksim, stating that on May 13 "an accidental round went off." On May 30, the young man's body was brought to the family, but they were forbidden to open the zinc coffin. His relatives did so anyway. Apart from a through-and-through wound, there were no other injuries on his body. Moreover, after the soldier's death, no nail clippings were taken, which is a mandatory procedure when testing for traces of gunshot residue. The accompanying certificate gave no cause of death and stated that his death was not connected to the performance of military duties. Relatives believe Mironov was killed, but the investigator on the case said he would pursue the theory of improper handling of a weapon.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

The Nalchik Garrison Military Court has sentenced serviceman Babgoev to seven years in a penal colony on charges of going AWOL. According to the court, on Aug. 1, 2025, Babgoev left his service and lived at home until Oct. 15, when he was found by police officers. The second time, he failed to return to his unit on Oct. 17 of the same year and remained at home until May 6, 2026, when he reported to a military investigation department. He had previously received a three-year sentence on probation in a drug case. The new sentence was handed down for the cumulative crimes.

The same court has sentenced serviceman Khapov to one year in a penal colony on charges of going AWOL. According to the sentence, from March 5 to April 2, he "spent time at his own discretion," after which he was sent to a hospital, and later reported to a military investigation department on his own.

In the Moscow region, the Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained two local residents who allegedly planned to blow up a railway train carrying fuels and lubricants. According to the intelligence services, acting on instructions from a Ukrainian handler, the suspects retrieved an improvised explosive device (IED) from a cache, and also managed to conduct reconnaissance on the railway tracks to select a convenient location for planting the explosive device.

Additionally, the FSB reported the detention of a Voronezh resident born in 2005 on suspicion of high treason. According to law enforcement, the young man was recruited via Telegram by Ukrainian intelligence services. Acting on instructions from his handlers for an expected reward, he organized surveillance of Russian military facilities in the Moscow region and searched the Internet for couriers aged 16 to 30 "to provide assistance to the intelligence services of Ukraine." The security services also claim that since July 2025, the detainee had participated in the operation of Ukrainian fraudulent call centers. The court has remanded him to a pre-trial detention center.

Additionally, law enforcement authorities announced the detention of two women in Pyatigorsk who were allegedly planning to target law enforcement officers in a bombing on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence. A criminal case has been opened against them for the illegal manufacture and transportation of explosives, as well as an attempted terrorist attack. According to the FSB, "acted on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence services," which intended to use them as suicide bombers. The two women had both arrived from Moscow and did not know each other.

A court in Novosibirsk has sentenced two teenagers to five years in a juvenile correctional facility on charges of attempted murder committed in a manner dangerous to the general public. According to investigators, the two minors acted on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence services, who offered them a financial reward to kill a Russian service member. For this purpose, they allegedly received three containers of hazardous chemical substances from their handlers. On July 26, 2025, the teenagers applied a poisonous mixture to the door handle and side mirror of the man's car, recording their actions on a mobile phone camera, but were subsequently detained.

A 16-year-old resident of the Leningrad region, reportedly Aleksey Nazarov, was sentenced to six and a half years in a juvenile penal colony on charges of committing a terrorist attack that resulted in serious consequences and preparing another act of terror. According to investigators, in November 2025, the minor, acting on instructions from a contact on Telegram who promised payment in cryptocurrency, set fire to a cellular communications tower in the village of Daymishche in the Gatchina district. Investigators also allege that he was preparing to set fire to an electrical substation but was unable to carry out the plan because he was detained by Interior Ministry officers. Following his arrest, the teenager was placed in a pretrial detention center.

Yevgeny Fyodorov, 86, an employee of a defense plant in the Moscow region, was sentenced to 14 years in a penal colony on charges of treason. Fyodorov was detained in December 2024. The case was heard behind closed doors, and details of the allegations have not been disclosed. According to leaked database records, Fyodorov worked at the Lianozovo Electromechanical Plant, part of the Almaz-Antey group [Russian state-owned concern in the arms industry], which specializes in the development and production of radar systems, as well as components and radars for air defense systems.

Longreads

Mediazona spoke with Vladimir Podkovyrkin, a resident of the town of Sursk in the Penza region, who was deceived into signing a military contract in November 2025 and subsequently sent to war.

The Vot Tak [Like This] media outlet examines why servicemen who have been killed or reported missing in action are unlawfully listed as having gone AWOL.