Mobilization in Russia for March 13-16, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

Authorities in the Sverdlovsk region have raised the sign-up bonus to 2.5 million rubles [$29,100] for those entering a contract with the Ministry of Defense to participate in the war. This follows an increase in September 2024, when the bonus was set at 1.5 million rubles [$17,500]. With the inclusion of the federal component, the total bonus now reaches 2.9 million rubles [$33,800].

In Moscow, the state-owned public transport operator Mosgortrans is now offering its employees an 81,400-ruble [$950] reward for each volunteer they recruit for the war, with no limit on the number of times they can receive this payout. Former city legislator Yevgeny Stupin made the directive public and said that officials issued it last week. The Sota media outlet reports that public sector organizations in the region are following a plan to deploy staff to the war, prompting some of them to place recruiters directly at recruitment centers, where they encourage potential recruits to claim employment at these organizations in exchange for additional compensation.

Law enforcement officers conducted raids in several cities of the Khanty-Mansi autonomous region–Yugra [Russia’s federal subject] and the Surgut district, issuing draft notices to men who failed to register for military service after obtaining Russian citizenship. Authorities carried out similar raids in Tyumen from March 12 to 14 and took 16 individuals who had avoided military registration to the regional draft office. Since the beginning of the year, Tyumen officials have added 162 naturalized citizens to the military rolls.

Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts

Based on open sources, Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] and BBC News Russian, together with volunteers, have verified the names of 97,994 Russian fighters killed in Ukraine, including 11,265 mobilized soldiers. Over the past two weeks, the list has grown by 2,000 soldiers, 378 of whom were mobilized.

The Memorial to Soldiers from Buryatia, a volunteer project that publishes obituaries on the VKontakte social network, has reported a record number of fallen servicemen from Russia’s constituent Republic of Buryatia in two days. "Forty posts in two days—this has never happened in the group before; people can't keep up with reading and commenting," the administrator of the social media group said on March 14. The reason for this spike in obituaries was not specified.

Servicemen from the 5th Motorized Rifle Brigade who refused to participate in combat are being forcibly held in an illegal basement prison in the village of Ocheretyne, in the Russian-occupied part of the Donetsk region of Ukraine. According to the Astra Telegram channel, the mother of a serviceman reported that her son refused to fight after sustaining injuries and experiencing "the attitude of commanders." As a result, he was declared AWOL. He was supposed to face trial, but his family claims that commanders "kidnapped the soldier during the investigation" and forcibly deployed him to combat. On Feb. 21, he and several other servicemen were placed in the basement in Ocheretyne. He has not been in contact since Feb. 25.

A 35-year-old contract soldier from the Chelyabinsk region, who contracted HIV and hepatitis A and B on the frontline, has been returned home. The diseases were discovered while he was being treated for injuries. Although the command initially sent him home for treatment, in December 2024, he was summoned to a draft office and then taken by military police to the Chebarkul military unit. On Jan. 14, he was sent to Rostov-on-Don "to participate in the special military operation." However, following a media report, it has now been reported that he was transferred out of the combat zone for a medical examination.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

A former convict who fought in the war against Ukraine has killed a person in central Moscow. According to the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, on March 14, the body of a previously convicted Azerbaijani national was found in a hotel with multiple stab wounds. A suspect was quickly apprehended—37-year-old serviceman Vitaly Ospishchev from the Perm region [Russia’s federal subject]. Ospishchev also had multiple prior convictions, the most recent for attacking an elderly person. Last fall, while serving a sentence in a penal colony, he signed a contract with the MoD. Over the course of his service, he was wounded twice. A day before the crime, he arrived at a military hospital in Moscow for prosthetic treatment but was denied care.

Another war participant, who was on leave, caused a brawl on board an Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Krasnoyarsk in the early hours of March 16. During the flight, a passenger began shouting profanities and arguing with flight attendants and other passengers. As a result, the 47-year-old man was restrained with tape, and upon landing in Krasnoyarsk, he was handed over to the police.

According to the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, a court in the city of Irkutsk has sentenced Anatoly Volzhentsev, head of the personnel department of military unit 35020, to five years in a maximum security penal colony for bribery. The officer was also stripped of his rank as a retired major. Volzhentsev demanded 100,000 rubles [$1,160] from conscripts who had signed contracts with the MoD in exchange for granting them a regional payment of 200,000 rubles [$2,330]. He threatened that without payment, he would not submit the necessary documents to the office of the governor of the Irkutsk region, leaving the contract soldiers without their payments. The soldiers agreed to hand over the money, and the investigation documented six instances of bribery.

Employees of the commandant's office have been sentenced to nine years in a penal colony for accepting bribes. They were also stripped of their military ranks. According to prosecutors, in 2023, two military personnel were patrolling a border area of the Kursk region when they encountered two soldiers using their phones outside the field camp. On a fabricated pretext, the commandant's office employees confiscated the soldiers' phones and military IDs and promised to release them from punishment for 10,000 rubles [$120]. Using the same scheme, they received 50,000 rubles [$580] from two other soldiers.

A war participant from Tyumen named Aleksandr has been sentenced to 13 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of desertion and intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm resulting in death. In December 2023, he signed a contract and was deployed to the frontline. During his service, he was hospitalized and underwent treatment for some time. After recovering, he was supposed to return to his military unit but instead went home, where in June 2024, he assaulted his partner’s stepfather twice, causing his death.

Two servicemen have been detained in Saint Petersburg. Both were wanted in criminal cases for going AWOL. In August 2024, a 48-year-old corporal left his unit in the "LPR" without a valid reason and never returned to service. A 39-year-old resident of Saint Petersburg was declared wanted for going AWOL in February.

The Vologda Garrison Military Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a war participant who sought to prove his injuries in order to receive compensation. According to the plaintiff, the court ignored his removed organs and a shrapnel fragment in his abdomen, deeming them insufficient grounds for payment.

The court has denied the right to alternative civilian service to a man from Glazov, Udmurtia [Russia's constituent republic]. The 20-year-old initially applied for alternative civilian service at the draft office but was rejected. He then filed an administrative lawsuit, which the judge dismissed, stating that "the plaintiff failed to sufficiently and credibly justify having deep-seated and insurmountable beliefs preventing him from serving in the military."

In Yerevan, Russian citizen Nikolay Zonov was detained at the passport office while applying for Armenian citizenship. In Russia, he is facing criminal charges for going AWOL. According to his wife, Arevik Zonova, who spoke to Novaya Gazeta Europe [European edition of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta] and Mediazona, he has been placed on a wanted list. In the fall of 2023, "a draft notice was put in his mailbox," after which he left Russia, only learning about the charges when applying for citizenship. He was released on the evening of March 15 after reaching the maximum detention period.

Near Saint Petersburg, cellular communication equipment was set on fire for the second time in a week. On March 10, in the village of Zanevka, two distribution panels were burned, prompting a criminal investigation. On March 14, in the settlement of Pargolovo, an unknown individual set fire to equipment belonging to Beeline [a mobile network operator brand]. No arrests have been reported.

On March 13, in Vyazma, the Dolg Patriotic Education Center, which houses the Museum of the Unknown Soldier, was set on fire. The blaze was quickly extinguished. A 15-year-old suspect was arrested the following day. According to the Baza Telegram channel, which is linked to law enforcement, the teenager allegedly carried out the attack in exchange for a promised payment of 320,000 rubles [$3,730]. He has been charged with committing an act of terrorism.

In the Krasnodar region, three teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of setting fire to relay cabinets along the railway. According to investigators, in early March, an unidentified individual offered them money to carry out the arson. They agreed and set fire to relay and battery cabinets on the railway section between Krasnodar-Sortirovochny and Loris stations. The names of the detained individuals have not been disclosed, and they have been charged with terrorism.

The Investigative Committee has charged Moscow resident Artyom Kleymenov with planning an act of terrorism targeting a transportation infrastructure facility, according to the TASS news agency. Details of the charges have not been disclosed. Kleymenov has been in custody since November 2024, though his arrest had not been previously reported.

The Supreme Court of Russia’s constituent Republic of Tatarstan has sentenced three local residents to prison terms ranging from 6 to 12 years in a sabotage case. The defendants' names have been withheld, but the Idel.Realii online media outlet, part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, managed to identify two of them: Arthur Galiakhmetov and Adel Salyamov, both from Bugulma. The identity of the third defendant remains unknown, as he was a minor at the time of the alleged crime. The Bugulma residents were arrested in October 2023 and accused of setting fire to a relay cabinet. The defendants reportedly received the assignment from a "handler" who promised them payment ranging from 20,000 rubles [$230] to 100,000 rubles [$1,160] for each cabinet destroyed. The goal of the attack was to disrupt the operation of trains, including those going to a war zone. The damage caused by the arson was estimated at 13,000 rubles [$150].

A military court sentenced 53-year-old artist Sergey Bryukhanov from the Irkutsk region to 14 years in prison on charges of treason, participation in the activities of a terrorist organization, financing a terrorist organization and calls for terrorism. Bryukhanov allegedly drew the symbol of the "Freedom of Russia Legion" on a waterfront parapet. During a search, authorities reportedly found correspondence with a representative of the Legion. According to the prosecution, the defendant, a "staunch opponent of the Russian Federation," established contact with members of the "Legion" and subsequently gathered and transmitted information about the locations of strategic MoD facilities, draft offices and military units. He is also accused of recruiting friends and family members into the Legion.

The Federal Security Service (FSB) detained a 29-year-old resident of Kerch on charges of treason for allegedly sending photographs of an oil depot in Feodosia and other locations. According to the intelligence services, the young man received messages on Telegram from individuals claiming to be employees of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence or the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). These individuals reportedly asked him to photograph the oil depot, columns of Russian soldiers and provide the coordinates of the Crimean Bridge.

The First Eastern District Military Court has sentenced 19-year-old Nikita Turlayev from the Khabarovsk region to 11 years in prison on charges of participation in a terrorist organization and public justification of terrorism. The young man was detained in the fall of 2023 in a college dormitory. On the same day his friend, 14-year-old Valery Zaytsev, was detained while he was being treated in the children's ward of a tuberculosis clinic. According to Baza, the youths "sympathized" with Ukraine's Azov Battalion; Turlayev managed "groups and chat rooms" where he "propagandized the battalion’s ideology," while Zaytsev "engaged in practical activities and also supported the Azov Battalion." Baza reported that the teenager was testing Molotov cocktails. Zaytsev's grandmother said the case was based on the testimony of a classified witness, who could be an FSB officer. The teenager was previously sentenced to four and a half years in a penal colony.

Assistance

Aleksandr Osipov, Governor of the Zabaykalsky region [Russia's federal subject], has reported on the regional project "Heroes-Victory. Future" for participants in the invasion of Ukraine. According to him, 164 people have registered for the project, and in July, the final list of participants will be formed, including at least 50 military personnel. After training, the cadets will be employed in administrative positions or at regional enterprises. It is reported that there are more than 200 vacancies for them.

Farid Mukhametshin, head of the Parliament of Tatarstan, stated that the republic has spent a total of 36 billion rubles [$419 million] on the war. This amount exceeds the annual budget of major cities in the republic.

Children and Educational System

In the Novosibirsk region, a mobile "youth laboratory" equipped for patriotic activities is being launched. According to Deputy Governor Valentina Dudkina, this mobile complex aims to provide equal access for rural schoolchildren to "practical training in the basics of military service."

In the Rostov region, mock-up weapons continue to be purchased for children. Under the "All the Best for Children" initiative, alongside Makarov pistol replicas, plans include the purchase of grenade models, dosimeters and protective suits against radioactive dust, totaling 33.9 million rubles [$394,900].

In the Stavropol region, a former Wagner Group mercenary conducted a lesson at a children's art school. In the photos he published, soldiers were seen presenting portraits of war participants to children. Previously, men with criminal backgrounds visited Gymnasium No. 9 in Stavropol on Defender of the Fatherland Day.

Miscellaneous

Members of the Put Domoy [Way Home] Telegram channel laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow and several cities across Russia. Several people visited the grave with flowers without interference from the police. Earlier, the movement had announced a nationwide flower-laying campaign.

Longreads

The Lyudi Baikala [People of Baikal] independent media outlet prepared a detailed analysis of war losses for the Irkutsk region and Buryatia.

The Pervy Otdel [First Department] human rights project released a report analyzing the case of Dmitry Seleznyov, who was sentenced to 20 years in a penal colony, allegedly for attempting to poison soldiers before their deployment to the frontline.