Mobilization in Russia for June 19-22, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary
Authorities and Legislation
Conscripts may keep their employment contracts under a new bill introduced in the State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly]. Currently, part one, section one of Labor Code Article 83 mandates the termination of an employment contract when an individual is called up, with an exception for mobilization. The lawmakers who authored the bill propose replacing this provision with a requirement that all employers grant an unpaid leave of absence for the entire duration of the employee’s military service.
Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts
Russia and Ukraine have conducted another exchange of prisoners of war, though neither side specified the number of military personnel involved nor indicated if the swap was equal. The previous prisoner exchange occurred on June 19.
Aleksey Streltsov, a mobilized soldier from the Rostov region, went missing after being wounded, redeployed to the frontline, and becoming involved in a conflict with military police. In July 2024, he was sent to the frontline from a unit in Rostov-on-Don without undergoing a military medical board evaluation, despite having a referral for surgery. In January 2025, Streltsov was detained by military police for consuming alcohol. He was initially sent to a military commandant’s office in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region and later transferred to the 5th Motor Rifle Brigade in the city of Makiivka. From there, Streltsov contacted his wife to request his banking details. Shortly afterward, she received a notification that her husband had been listed as missing in action.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
A 34-year-old deserter from Karelia[Russia’s constituent republic], Yanis Boev, who killed a conscript soldier while fleeing in the Belgorod region on June 17, has returned to his unit and surrendered. He was handed over to military police. Boev reportedly told authorities he had been hiding in a forest about two kilometers from the Russian Armed Forces’ positions from which he had escaped. According to the Pepel [Ashes] Telegram channel, the AK-74 assault rifle allegedly used by Boev to kill his fellow soldier, along with ammunition, was found on the grounds of the military base.
On June 17, a black bag containing a plastic container filled with an unknown liquid was discovered beneath a Mil Mi-17 helicopter at the Kazan Helicopter Plant, according to the Baza Telegram channel. A criminal case was opened on suspicion of an attempted terrorist act. Investigators believe that 22-year-old Fanis Makhmudov planted the device under the helicopter, allegedly acting on instructions from scammers. According to Baza and the Kremlin-aligned Mash Iptash news outlet, Makhmudov was later found dead, reportedly by suicide. Authorities also allegedly seized ammonium nitrate and other bomb-making components from his apartment.
In Crimea, law enforcement officers have detained two men for allegedly setting fire to relay cabinets in the Saky district. According to the Federal Security Service (FSB), the detained residents of the Saky district and Yevpatoria were recruited by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. The men were arrested for two months on charges of an act of terror. Their names have not been disclosed.
Belgorod volunteer Nadezhda Rossinskaya, also known as Nadin Geisler, who founded the Army of Beauties movement that assisted refugees from Ukraine, has been sentenced to 22 years of imprisonment on charges of public incitement to terrorist activities, aiding terrorist activities and high treason. The prosecution had requested a 27-year sentence in a penal colony for Rossinskaya. The 22-year term is the longest sentence handed down in Russia for financial assistance to Ukraine. All three criminal cases against the activist are related to an Instagram post in which, according to investigators, she called for donations to the Ukrainian Azov Battalion. The volunteer denied that the account belonged to her. She was detained on Feb. 1, 2024, upon returning to Russia from Georgia. The next day, she was placed in a pre-trial detention center. Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] and SOTAvision have published Geisler’s final statement in court.
A court in Yekaterinburg sentenced 48-year-old Vera Sidorkina, a resident of Mari El [Russia's constituent republic], to 18 years in a penal colony on charges of treason and attempting to join the Freedom of Russia Legion. The woman is a single mother raising a 10-year-old daughter. Hearings in Sidorkina's case were held behind closed doors. The prosecution claims that in 2023, Sidorkina corresponded with representatives of the Freedom of Russia Legion and completed a form to join the unit, intending to work as a medic or in combat service support. Additionally, according to the prosecutor's office, the woman "proactively offered to cooperate with a representative of Ukraine’s intelligence services" and sent him satellite images with coordinates of the defense industry and the MoD facilities. The prosecutor's office reported that the woman intended to cross the Russian border with her child to join the enemy’s side, but was stopped by border guards as she attempted to leave the country. She was detained on April 24, 2024, but the FSB only reported it on Oct. 30. However, footage from the intelligence services shows Sidorkina being detained in the center of Yoshkar-Ola, not by border guards, but by the FSB officers.
In Russia, the number of women sentenced for state treason tripled between 2022 and 2024. No women were convicted of these charges in 2020, while three were convicted in 2021. With the onset of the full-scale war in Ukraine in 2022, no women were convicted of state treason, while 16 men were. In 2023, two women and 37 men received sentences, and in 2024, seven women and 138 men were sentenced. The number of espionage cases against women has increased slightly, with four women charged between 2020 and 2024, two of which occurred in 2024. During the same period, 36 men were convicted of espionage.
In the Tambov region, the FSB has detained a man born in 1979 on suspicion of state treason. In September 2024, he allegedly began communication via a messenger with a representative of the Ukrainian intelligence services, purportedly to convey intelligence regarding assets of the Russian MoD.
Assistance
Ilya Obabkov, acting Rector of Ural Federal University, announced that the university has reserved 761 state-funded places for participants of the "special military operation" in both full-time and part-time programs for the upcoming academic year. This marks a 15% increase compared to 2024. Obabkov noted that certain categories will have admission quotas based on the Unified State Exam [graduation examination in Russia’s schools] scores. Applicants holding the title of Hero of Russia or the Order of Courage will be admitted without exams.
Children
In April of this year, war participant Viktor Taydakov from Syzran conducted educational training for eighth graders on life safety basics as part of a local project for veterans called "Hero's Path. Syzran." Taydakov approached children wearing a "Cargo 200 [a military term referring to the transportation of military fatalities] - We Are Together" patch, which is associated with the Wagner Group. On May 6, he participated as an honorary guest in a children's taekwondo championship. Journalists found that Taydakov had previously faced criminal charges for robbery and inflicting grievous bodily harm, and in 2009, he was convicted alongside an accomplice for raping and murdering a 22-year-old woman. It is unknown what sentence Taydakov received for these crimes, as well as when he enlisted in the war.
Longreads
Baza has reported the disturbing case of Kristina Kokova, a young woman brutally murdered by her father-in-law in an act of domestic violence. Despite the severity of the crime, the man avoided prosecution by enlisting to fight in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The Vot Tak [Like This] media outlet examined how Russian soldiers, both living and killed, are being branded as deserters.