Mobilization in Russia for March 23–25, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

Authorities have drafted amendments to the Internal Regulations of the Military Police to allow the detention, under martial law, of soldiers suspected of grave or especially grave crimes for up to 30 days without trial. Such offenses include resisting or assaulting a commanding officer, hazing resulting in serious injury, going AWOL for more than a month, desertion, feigning illness, self-harm, and deliberate destruction of military property. The changes to internal regulations stem from the 2024 amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code that first permitted 30-day detentions without a court order.

The State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] approved in its first reading a bill that would increase fines for failing to notify the draft office of a move from the current range of 1,000 to 5,000 rubles [$12 to $60] to as much as 20,000 rubles [$240].

Vladimir Putin indicated that the Ministry of Defense is considering the rotation of troops who were the first to reach the frontline, saying the "decision depends on realities on the ground." He stressed that the rotation issue remains urgent and that officials have not forgotten about it, adding that "many mobilized soldiers have already become professional servicemen." The Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] Telegram channel cautions against confusing rotation with demobilization. Rotation involves replacing units in a combat zone with fresh forces, removing worn-out and exhausted troops, and replacing them with new ones.

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

Ilya Konstantinov, the dean of the Volga Institute of Management, who was accused of accepting bribes, signed a contract with the MoD to participate in the war before a verdict was issued and was released from custody. Similarly, Aleksandr Gliskov, a Krasnoyarsk regional legislature deputy from the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) [right-wing populist and ultranationalist political party], who had been sentenced to 10 years in a maximum security penal colony for bribery, also submitted a request to join the war.

Igor Vysotsky, a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg, stated that the city's spring regular conscription campaign would take place without electronic summonses as the Unified Military Register—the digital system intended to automate the conscription process—has yet to become operational in Saint Petersburg. However, according to him, this should be the last "non-digital" conscription. Saint Petersburg’s military commissar Marat Urmansov announced that 3,000 people are expected to be conscripted this spring, 500 more than last year. Authorities also summarized the results of the fall conscription, during which 24,000 people passed through draft offices. Of these, 37% were deemed fit for service, 44% fit with minor restrictions. 12% of those who passed through draft offices, or 3,000 young men, were conscripted. Of those conscripted, 1% were older than 27, while 75% were between 20 and 26 years old.

Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts

A Russian soldier born in 2007 has been killed in the war in Ukraine, as discovered by Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet]. According to the Chelyabinsk branch of the Movement of the First [state-led youth movement], 18-year-old Aleksandr Petlinsky, born on Jan. 31, 2007, "died in the line of duty during the special military operation." Petlinsky is the first soldier born in 2007 whose death has been reported.

The Vazhnyye Istorii [IStories, independent Russian investigative media outlet] have noted that, according to an article published in the Military Medical Journal, over 75 % of all injuries sustained by Russian soldiers were caused by UAV attacks. Another 20 % of soldiers were injured by artillery fire and 4 % suffered gunshot wounds.

Russian soldiers have been reported looting the homes of residents in the village of Repyakhovka in the Krasnoyaruzhsky district of the Belgorod region, where the Russian Armed Forces have been deployed to repel an attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Local residents have reported that at least 20 houses were looted, with bodies of killed Russian soldiers found in some of them. Previously, Governor of the Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov stated that entry to the village was "temporarily restricted." Despite this restriction, local residents report that many people remain in Repyakhovka, as they either did not want to or could not evacuate. Officials claimed that "fewer than 470" people refused to evacuate. Some residents of Repyakhovka are returning to the village with the intention of saving their homes and property from military looters.

A 25-year-old Russian serviceman with the surname Kyuner has been detained for looting in the area near Sudzha in the Kursk region. The man had stolen a car from the village of Pogrebki in the Sudzhansky district, however, no criminal case was initiated for the offense.

The Military Prosecutor's Office has banned the review of complaints against frontline commanders, according to an investigation by the Vyorstka media outlet. Military prosecutors across Russia are receiving thousands of complaints from soldiers and their relatives, alleging widespread beatings, executions, unlawful orders and extortion by commanders. Due to the ban, complainants receive, at best, dismissive replies—and in most cases, no response at all. No investigations have been conducted based on these complaints. Meanwhile, frontline commanders are aware that they face no consequences for their crimes.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

In the Sakhalin region, war participant Vitaly Prisukhin has been sentenced to 12 years in a maximum security penal colony for attempting to murder two people and unlawfully entering a residence. He has also been stripped of his state awards. According to investigators, in September 2024, Prisukhin, while under the influence of drugs, attacked two women. He was detained the following day. Prisukhin had previously faced criminal charges and was registered at a psychiatric and narcological dispensary due to drug-related issues.

In the Saratov region, 34-year-old Stanislav Vyshinsky, a former Wagner Group mercenary with prior convictions, set fire to a house with children inside. He blocked the exits, forcing firefighters to evacuate the residents through windows. No injuries were reported. Vyshinsky started the fire after his partner refused to let him into their home because he was drunk. He had previously served sentences for theft, vehicle theft, robbery, and property damage. In 2021, he was sentenced to 11 years in a penal colony for murder but was released early after being recruited to fight in the war and receiving a pardon.

On March 23 in Abakan, Khakassia [Russia’s constituent republic], 42-year-old war participant Yury Zubarev, who was in the city for treatment, shot a 24-year-old local man with an unidentified weapon following a conflict. The young man was taken to the hospital with leg injuries, and the serviceman was detained.

A criminal case of treason has been openedagainst an ex-convict who was recruited from a penal colony to join the war. According to law enforcement, the 51-year-old man was captured in June 2023, where he allegedly decided to switch sides to the AFU. In August of the same year, the man was wounded and captured again, this time by Russian soldiers. He was detained after receiving treatment.

In the Saratov region, a conscript who failed to appear for a medical evaluation during the fall regular conscription campaign of 2024 and instead left to earn money was sentenced to a fine of 100,000 rubles [$1,190] for evading statutory military service. The conscript also did not appear in court and submitted a statement pleading guilty and requesting that the case be considered in his absence. As noted by Voyennye Advokaty, the verdict confirms the established judicial practice of imposing penalties for draft evasion that do not involve imprisonment.

The First Eastern District Military Court has sentenced 21-year-old Stepan Korobochka from the city of Svobodny to 19 years of imprisonment on charges of treason and setting fire to a draft office in Blagoveshchensk in the fall of 2023. According to investigators, in the fall of 2023, Korobochka, who was 19 at the time, set fire to the draft office in Blagoveshchensk. The reason why he was charged with treason remains unknown. The sentence was issued in combination with a previous case: in 2023, Korobochka was convicted in Astrakhan and sentenced to nine years in a maximum security penal colony on drug charges. As Korobochka's mother told Mediazona, he was detained in Astrakhan in October 2023 in connection with that case. Before the trial on drug charges was completed, he was also accused of setting fire to the draft office in Blagoveshchensk. Stepan pleaded guilty. His mother believes he may have been pressured while in detention—according to her, her son told her about beatings but asked her not to file complaints, saying, "it would only get worse." After the sentencing on drug charges, Korobochka was transferred to the Russian Far East, and his defense team did not have time to appeal the verdict.

The Second Western District Military Court has declaredAleksandr Mineev legally insane for attempting to set fire to a draft office in the Khoroshyovsky district of Moscow. He was released from criminal liability on charges of an act of terror and sentenced to compulsory psychiatric treatment. According to investigators, certain "supporters of Ukraine" contacted Mineev via messenger, took advantage of his illness and convinced him to set fire to the draft office. Mineev visited the draft office several times to study its security and escape routes. During one of these visits, he was noticed by police officers. He was detained, and information about the planned arson was found on his phone.

In the Altai Republic, a 20-year-old student was detained on suspicion of setting fire to an electrical substation on March 20, 2025. As a result of the arson, part of Gorno-Altaysk was left without power for several hours. A student from a local technical school was soon arrested in connection with the arson. According to investigators, he was guided by scammers. On the evening of March 20, the student poured motor oil and gasoline on one of the switchboards and set it on fire. Initially, the incident was treated as a case of arson of property, but later the article was reclassified as a terrorist attack.

A resident of Moscow born in 2009 was charged for participation in the activities of a terrorist organization. The teenager was remanded in custody as a pretrial restriction. According to investigators, he joined the Russian Volunteer Corps and, allegedly for a reward of 9,000 rubles [$110], was supposed to document transportation infrastructure in the Vladimir region for a potential sabotage target.

A court has sentenced a Perm native to 13 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of treason. According to prosecutors, the man "opposed the special military operation." From his bank account, he made a transfer to the National Bank of Ukraine to support the AFU.

Law enforcement officers detained 45-year-old Arsen Mnatsakanov, an employee of Rostekhnadzor's central office, on treason charges. According to investigators, the man provided Ukraine with "information about the protection of industrial and energy facilities in border areas and locations where Russian soldiers are stationed."

In Naberezhnye Chelny, the Federal Security Service (FSB) detained a man for transferring data to Ukraine. According to law enforcement, the local resident shared information about enterprises of the military-industrial complex in Russia's constituent Republic of Tatarstan with the Security Service of Ukraine. Treason charges were not filed since the man obtained information from open sources or shared what was already widely known. He received an official warning instead.

The Second Western District Military Court sentenced AFU serviceman Vladimir Yurov to 15 years imprisonment for an act of terror. According to investigators, on Sept. 6, Yurov and other Ukrainian soldiers infiltrated the Korenevsky district of Kursk region. The Investigative Committee also claims that while in the village of Durovka, Yurov prevented residents from evacuating and "repeatedly fired at Russian servicemen and civilians."

Assistance

The Commissioner for Human Rights in Tatarstan Sariya Saburskaya spoke about the employment challenges faced by ex-convicts returning from the war. According to her, employers are reluctant to hire them because these individuals typically lack the required education, job skills, and willingness to work, and learn. Some have never had a job in the past. As of December 2024, 112 ex-convicts who had previously signed contracts with the Ministry of Defense approached employment services in Tatarstan. Of these, 73 were successfully employed, 20 were sent for training, while the rest are still awaiting suitable job placements.

Authorities in the Vladimir region are planning to "adapt workplaces" for returning Vladimir residents from the war and assist them with training and employment. The region has launched a program allowing "special military operation heroes" to work in government agencies. Governor of the Vladimir region Aleksandr Avdeyev announced these initiatives during his 2024 report on the region's progress. Additionally, Avdeyev noted increased government funding for pro-state and pro-military NGOs.

Children and Educational System

"Lessons of courage" were held in schools throughout Russia and the "LPR," informing children about the return of Sudzha to Russia’s control and the "Flow" [also known as "Pipe"] operation. This operation was compared to the capture of Budapest by the Soviet Army in 1944.

Miscellaneous

Udmurtia will receive 1.28 billion rubles [$15.24 million] from the national budget in 2026 to establish a scientific and production center for civilian unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVs]. Russia plans to allocate a total of 21 billion rubles [$250 million] to establish similar centers across 16 regions. This year, 4 billion rubles [$47.64 million] will be distributed among seven regions.

Longreads

The Sever.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet has published a report on the crimes committed by Russian servicemen who went AWOL. According to the outlet's tally, at least 168 cases have been opened against the deserters for crimes of varying severity.

Mediazona reported on how serviceman Sergey Mikhalyuk attempted to legally resign from the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation (RVSN), but after failed attempts, he became a deserter and fled the country.

Khroniki.Media reports on how Russian school students are being trained to work as drone operators.