Mobilization in Russia for June 29-July 1, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

Russia’s government has extended its Concept for the Preparation of Citizens for Military Service until 2030 by an additional six years. Originally published in 2010, the document aims to promote readiness for military service among young people. The updated directive aims to decrease the number of individuals deemed "unfit for military service" based on medical and physical assessments to 17.5 percent by 2030 and down to 16 percent by 2036. Conversely, it aims to increase the share of potential recruits found fit for service by draft boards to 17.5 percent by 2030 and to 19 percent by 2036.

The Supreme Court affirmed that military personnel must register in person if they wish to run for public office. The decision stems from the case of Dmitry Porshnev, who attempted to run in the September 2024 election for head of the Gdovsky district in the Pskov region while deployed on the front line. Porshnev had arranged for his wife to submit the necessary registration documents on his behalf, but the electoral commission rejected his candidacy due to procedural violations. The court denied Porshnev’s appeal, noting that the campaign had concluded and his right to run for office could not be restored.

At a government meeting, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov stated that regional authorities decided not to restore properties damaged in the course of the war until it ends, if those properties belong to residents who moved abroad. Although Gladkov had personally floated the idea on June 16, he now presents it as a decision made by municipal leaders. Officials will maintain a separate registry of such properties, with repairs postponed until the war ends. Gladkov also advised individuals holding dual citizenship to seek assistance from the country that issued their second passport.

Army Recruitment

The sign-up bonus for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense in the Novosibirsk region will be increased from 800,000 rubles [$10,200], set in December 2024, to 1.6 million rubles [$20,400] between July 1 and Sept. 30. An additional 400,000 rubles [$5,100] will be provided from the national budget. In addition, according to the Sibirskiy Ekspress [Siberian Express] Telegram channel, recruitment efforts for contract service have resumed at some factories in the region.

The MoD is discussing a plan to open 15 new military universities between 2025 and 2034. According to Izvestia [The News, a Russian pro-Kremlin daily broadsheet newspaper and a news channel], a decision has already been made to establish two of them. In 2025, the Saratov Higher Military Engineering School of Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense and the Nizhny Novgorod Higher Military Engineering School will be opened. In 2026, a record three military educational institutions may begin operations: the Chelyabinsk Higher Tank Command School, the Ulyanovsk Higher Military Aviation School and the Novocherkassk Higher Military Command School of Communications.

Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts

Former Wagner Group mercenaries have complained that they are granted the status of combat veteran only based on testimony from other mercenaries. According to one of them, to obtain the certificate, testimony from two fighters who already hold veteran status is required. The service dates of the witnesses must match those of the applicant, although all three may belong to different assault units. Deputy Defense Minister Anna Tsivilyova stated back in November 2024 that ex-mercenaries could obtain "special military operation veteran" status based on eyewitness testimony. In February 2025, she reported that over 13,000 former mercenaries had been granted combat veteran status.

Soldiers of the 30th Motorized Rifle Regiment, Sergeant Sergey Zozulenko and Junior Lieutenant Kamil Zainulin, were invited to Kursk for what they were told would be an "award ceremony." Instead, they ended up in an illegal basement prison for "refuseniks" in the village of Zaitseve, located in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Luhansk region. The men managed to make contact once and reported that they were initially thrown into a pit and then transported to Zaitseve in handcuffs. Since then, there has been no further communication.

The Investigative Committee has initiated a criminal case for abuse of power against a fellow soldier of a 36-year-old contract soldier from the town of Timashevsk, Krasnodar region. The victim had previously reported that after sustaining an injury, he was transferred to a medical military unit in the Kursk region, where he was held against his will, beaten, chained to a weight and extorted for money. Following the media coverage of his case, the soldier was transferred to a "safe place," and a formal investigation was initiated. A medical examination revealed that he had broken fingers as a result of the abuse. It was recently reported that Aleksandr L., a 32-year-old military unit inspector, is involved in the case.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

In the Rostov region, a father and son who had gone fishing on the Don River were assaulted and then set on fire. Three local residents are suspected of the crime: 46-year-old Sergey T., 47-year-old Sergey S. and 37-year-old Mikhail G., a war veteran. According to preliminary reports, on June 8, a conflict broke out between them and 64-year-old Aleksandr T. and his 41-year-old son Anatoly T. During the altercation, the father and son were severely beaten, doused with gasoline and set on fire. Afterward, one of the attackers called the police and falsely claimed that the fishermen had set themselves on fire. According to the Baza media outlet, Anatoly died at the scene, while his father was hospitalized. The suspects have been detained.

Dmitry Kovalenko, a 30-year-old soldier who had a prior criminal record and fled from a combat zone, fatally stabbed an acquaintance in the Smolensk region. On June 24, the body of a man from Kaluga was discovered in the town of Velizh. The soldier has been taken into custody.

A military KAMAZ truck collided with a Volkswagen passenger car in the Naro-Fominsk district of the Moscow region. Preliminary reports indicate that the Volkswagen was pulling onto the road when its driver failed to notice the truck. Two people in the Volkswagen were killed, while the truck driver was unharmed.

The Southern District Military Court has reduced the sentence of 19-year-old contract soldier Arbi Mazhidov from Chechnya [Russia's constituent republic], who was convicted over a fatal traffic accident that killed two people. Initially sentenced to nine years in a penal colony, Mazhidov’s punishment was downgraded to a penal settlement by the appeals court, which cited a war injury and a state award he had received. The accident occurred on Sept. 21, 2024, on the Argun–Dzhalka highway. Mazhidov, who did not have a driver’s license and was under the influence of alcohol, drove into the oncoming lane and collided with a passenger car, killing both the driver and the passenger.

Law enforcement officers have detained a resident of the Amur Region who attempted to set fire to a draft office to prevent people from being sent to the war. The Federal Security Service (FSB) identified the detainee as an "active participant of a pro-Ukrainian" Telegram channel. He was charged with committing a terrorist attack. The FSB did not disclose the date of the attempted arson.

Three teenagers from Kaliningrad were accused of attempting to carry out an arson attack on a railway and were placed in a pre-trial detention center. Two of the defendants are 16 years old, and the third is 17. They have been charged with offenses related to committing and attempting to commit an act of terror. According to investigators, on the evening of June 23, the youths attempted to set fire to a traffic signal cabinet on the Pionersky Kurort–Pereslavskoye Novoye railway section, after which they fled the scene. Law enforcement officers stated that disabling the equipment "could have created a real risk of human casualties."

Two residents of Crimea have been detained on suspicion of sending photos and videos of critical infrastructure facilities and military vehicles to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). A criminal case for high treason has been initiated. One of the detainees stated that he collected data on the location of a military facility in Yalta and a Pantsir-S1 surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery system.

A 10th-grade student from Donetsk has been detained on charges of participating in a terrorist organization. According to investigators, in 2024, Valentin, then 16 years old, allegedly contacted the Russian Volunteer Corps bot and agreed to join the unit. Following instructions from handlers, the teenager wrote "Glory to the Russian Volunteer Corps" with a marker on a wall in an apartment building entrance. Valentin was detained several days later. Law enforcement also accuses him of regularly sending coordinates of military facilities to Ukrainian intelligence. According to law enforcement, the teenager may have revealed the locations of five military units, air defense system positions and Russian troop deployment sites.

A military court in the city of Yekaterinburg has begun hearing the criminal case against 63-year-old pensioner Sergey Silantiev from Izhevsk. He faces charges of treason, calls for terrorism, participation in a terrorist organization and calls for activities against Russian state security. Silantiev has a first-degree disability. According to the prosecution, he filled out an application to join the Freedom of Russia Legion. After receiving an assignment via messenger, Silantiev placed six leaflets on the graves of Russian soldiers at an Izhevsk cemetery. The charge of calling for anti-Russian activities stems from a comment in which he allegedly urged others to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

A court in the Leningrad region has sentenced 33-year-old Ukrainian Ilia Bondarchuk to 10 years in a penal colony. According to the prosecution, starting in March 2023, Bondarchuk collected information for the SBU: he filmed and photographed industrial facilities, as well as "buildings, structures and surrounding areas of a defense industry concern."

The Southern District Military Court has sentenced 29-year-old Aleksey Romanyuk on charges of high treason, participation in a terrorist organization, possession of explosives, smuggling and preparation of a terrorist attack. According to investigators, all these offenses were committed as part of an organized group.

The same court in Rostov-on-Don also sentenced Dmytro Shanaev, a prisoner of war and member of the Azov Brigade, to 20 years in a maximum security penal colony. He was convicted of participation in a terrorist organization and receiving training for the purpose of terrorism. Shanaev, a junior sergeant, served as a recruiter in Azov and surrendered in the spring of 2022 along with other defenders of the Azovstal Steel Factory.

According to the OVD-Info independent human rights project in the first six months of this year, law enforcement officers most frequently initiated politically motivated cases involving calls for terrorism, with 31 individuals named as defendants. An additional 26 people are being prosecuted for alleged involvement in organizing the activities of an extremist organization.

Children

A former participant in Russia’s wars in Chechnya and Ukraine is now training youth in Buryatia. Dmitry Karpov, who fought in the Second Chechen War and served in the Akhmat battalion in Ukraine, has become an instructor at the Voin [Warrior] center for patriotic education.

Longreads

The Insider [independent Russian investigative media outlet] reports that many Russian soldiers, after being freed in prisoner exchanges, are being sent back to the frontline.

The Vot Tak [Like This] media outlet explores how citizens of Central Asian countries are joining the Russian army, with financial incentives cited as the most common reason for signing contracts.

The Bumaga [Paper] independent media outlet spoke with a friend of 22-year-old Yulia Moskovskaya, who was detained in mid-June in Saint Petersburg on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack on an employee at a drone development company.