Mobilization in Russia for May 11-13, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary
Authorities and Legislation
The State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia] approved a bill in its first reading that permits authorities to conduct administrative proceedings in absentia against individuals who commit offenses abroad if these actions are deemed "against the interests" of Russia. Additionally, the document proposes seizing the assets of people facing such administrative proceedings.
In consecutive second and third readings, the State Duma also passed a bill enabling participants in the war against Ukraine to apply for out-of-court bankruptcy for debts up to 1,000,000 rubles [$12,300]. The procedure is reserved for individuals that lack seizable assets. As a result, service members will not incur legal fees and will retain all payments received for their participation in combat operations, as the law prohibits the seizure of these funds to settle outstanding debts.
The Ministry of Finance has drafted amendments to the Tax Code that propose partially exempting war participants from land and transport taxes. If adopted, these benefits would apply retroactively from 2022 and extend to both participants in the war against Ukraine and members of their family.
Legislators will introduce a bill to the State Duma to prohibit the division of income received from participating in the war against Ukraine during divorce proceedings. The authors propose that the monetary funds a spouse receives for participating in the war constitute personal property and should not be divided in the event of a divorce. They suggest this rule should encompass sign-up bonuses, monetary allowances, and monthly or other payments. The bill's provisions would apply to marriages registered after Feb. 24, 2022, even if those marriages end before the law takes effect, provided the division of property has not yet occurred and a court decision has not yet been finalized.
The Ministry of Defense drafted a legislation requiring all military service members to provide a DNA sample. Currently, mandatory DNA collection applies only to convicts whose DNA was taken as part of the investigative proceedings, criminal suspects, those under administrative arrest, relatives of soldiers missing in action, and unidentified remains. The MoD proposes to collect biological samples from contract soldiers, volunteer fighters, members of the Rosgvardia [the Russian National Guard], and everyone serving in the Russian Armed Forces and other branches of the military. The genetic materials will be kept until the service member turns 70 or passes away.
Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising
Vladimir Putin claimed that 50,000 to 60,000 Russians head to the war with Ukraine every month. Earlier, government representatives mentioned 30,000 to 40,000 monthly recruits. The investigation by the CIT and Vazhnyye Istorii [IStories, independent Russian investigative media outlet] shows that even the latter numbers have often been inflated.
In Krasnoyarsk, law enforcement conducted a large roundup delivering 70 recently naturalized Russian citizens to the draft office. Of those, 56 were registered with the military and 13 issued draft notices.
Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts
The Idel.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet has identified over 10,500 natives of Russia’s constituent Republics of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan who have been killed in the war. The list includes only those whose deaths were reported by relatives, educational institutions, or civil society organizations. The actual numbers may be significantly higher. Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] and BBC News Russian are also tracking military deaths. According to their data, at least 4,887 soldiers from Bashkortostan and 4,764 from Tatarstan have been killed in the war with Ukraine. Both republics rank among the highest of all Russian regions in terms of death toll.
The Military Prosecutor's Office of the Central Military District responded to a request from 74.RU [Chelyabinsk city online media outlet], which had asked for comment on the situation at the Chebarkul garrison. According to the report, a 20-year-old conscript signed a contract with the MoD just two and a half hours after arriving at the unit, under pressure and threats of violence from commanding officers. "The information provided will be reviewed in accordance with established procedures, with relevant parties to be notified afterward," the office stated.
From the Kuzminsky military training ground near Rostov-on-Don, ten contract soldiers escaped during the night of May 8-9. They were all ex-convicts scheduled for deployment to the frontline. The escapees had previously served time for serious crimes, including murder, robbery, drug trafficking, rape and assault. Four of them were quickly apprehended near the border of the Rostov region, while the military police continued to search for the others. According to the wife of one of the detained soldiers, the group had left the base with their commander’s permission, allegedly to drink at a hotel in the city. She claims that three of the men returned to the training ground a few days later. The others were either captured or are currently absent without leave, with their whereabouts unknown. Now, the servicemen reportedly fear being sent on what is referred to as a "meat assault."
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
The First Western District Military Court sentenced 29-year-old Nikolay Tikhonov, a cadet at the Military Space Academy, to 10 years in a maximum security penal colony for murder. On Sept. 22, 2024, Tikhonov met a 41-year-old woman at a nightclub and invited her to his home. Upon seeing her hearing aid, he mistook it for a listening device and, suspecting her of spying for Ukraine, beat her to death. Tikhonov was serving under a military contract and had been married twice. He has a child. According to media reports, he had a history of physically abusing his former wives.
Aleksey Panzhev, the former deputy head of the Investigative Committee for the Frunzensky district of Saint Petersburg, has confessed to smuggling weapons out of a combat zone. The 49-year-old law enforcement officer was detained on Feb. 17 at the border of the Rostov region while attempting to transport Kalashnikov assault rifles and hand grenades in his car. He faces charges of illegal acquisition, distribution, and transportation of weapons committed by a group of individuals, with the use of official position and prior conspiracy. According to Fontanka [pro-Russian media outlet of the Leningrad region], Panzhev joined service in the "special military operation" zone in late 2022 or early 2023. As reported by the TASS news agency, he was appointed head of one of the Investigative Committee’s territorial units in Luhansk.
In the Krasnodar region on May 11, a 22-year-old serviceman Artyom Trushov caused a road accident on the Krasnodar-Kropotkin highway, resulting in the death of his passenger—another serviceman—18-year-old Djemal Sharipov, who died at the scene. Both Trushov and a passenger from the second vehicle sustained injuries. The military driver crossed into the oncoming lane in a prohibited area and collided with another vehicle. Whether he was sober at the time of the crash remains unknown.
The Military Lawyers project analyzed 2024 statistics from the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court, which revealed that courts convicted 13,674 servicemen. Of these, 486 were convicted of crimes against life and health, including 134 for murder, and 187 for grievous bodily harm. Another 182 military personnel were convicted of giving bribes, while 96 were found guilty of accepting them. Courts issued 44 sentences for vehicle theft and 912 for repeated driving under the influence. Military-specific offenses accounted for 9,203 convictions. Service members committed 2,707 minor offenses, 1,310 medium-severity offenses, 8,891 serious crimes and 766 grave crimes. Real prison sentences were handed to 6,845 servicemen, while 4,226 were sentenced on probation.
More people have been arrested in connection with a theft and fraud scheme targeting war participants during taxi rides. In the criminal case involving fraud, theft, extortion and the formation of a criminal group at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, 23 people have been arrested, including five police officers. The transport police have identified a total of nine incidents involving the criminal group. The court has placed all defendants in custody for two months. Previously, 16 suspects were known, including three law enforcement officers.
In the early hours of May 13, a 27-year-old woman entered a Rosgvardia parking lot in the city of Kaluga and set fire to five service vehicles. She then got into her car and headed toward the city exit. On the way, however, she collided with a man. Eyewitnesses claim that after the accident, the woman got out of her car and began beating the victim. She was detained, and law enforcement officers are investigating her motives. Preliminary data suggests that she may have committed the arson at the direction of fraudsters who had previously stolen money from her.
A military court in Saint Petersburg has sentenced 16-year-old Pavel Khazov and 17-year-old Kosmos Nevolainen to nine and six years in a maximum security penal colony, respectively, for charges of terrorism. According to the prosecution, the young men had received an assignment from an unknown person. On the night of August 11, 2024, at the Babaevo railway station in the Vologda region, the young men set fire to the cabin of an electric locomotive, completely destroying it. The estimated cost of the damage to the Russian Railways [Russian fully state-owned railway company] is 24 million rubles [$296,400]. Khazov was also found guilty of setting fire to a Tele2 telecommunications tower on Aug. 8, causing damage of 161,000 rubles [$1,990]. The young men were detained a few days after the arson of the electric locomotive. They both admitted their guilt.
The Novosibirsk regional court has sentenced Sergey Kondakov to 10 years of imprisonment on charges of sabotage for setting fire to a relay cabinet. According to investigators, in January–February 2024, 39-year-old Kondakov got in touch with a person who offered him $500 to carry out sabotage. On Feb. 26, 2024, he set fire to a relay cabinet between the Inya-Vostochnaya and Mochishche stations, recorded the act on video and sent it to his handlers. Kondakov received 46,900 rubles [$580] for completing the task. The damage from the arson amounted to 575,853 rubles [$7,110], which the court ordered him to pay. Law enforcement officers detained Kondakov a few days after the incident—in early March 2024. He pleaded guilty.
In Novokuznetsk, the Federal Security Service (FSB) detained two teenagers who allegedly planned an act of terror at the city’s draft office. According to investigators, the teenagers acted "out of selfish motives" for a promised reward of $50 from a representative of the Freedom of Russia Legion. However, only one of the two teenagers was sent to a pre-trial detention center on charges of preparing an act of terror. No information has been provided regarding measures taken against the second.
In Rostov-on-Don, a 42-year-old resident of the Kherson region, Andrey Serezhenko, has been sentenced to 17 years in prison in a case related to an attempt on the life of local USIN [Unified State Information System] head Yevgeny Sobolev. Serezhenko was found guilty of committing acts of international terrorism and illegal possession of explosives. Russian authorities announced the arrest of Serezhenko and another Kherson region resident, Oleg Pronko, on July 6, 2022. According to the court, unidentified individuals opposed to Russia's invasion of Ukraine recruited a Kherson resident to carry out an explosion, who in turn recruited Serezhenko. Sobolev's car was detonated on June 18, 2022, and he survived, though the court claims he suffered grievous bodily harm as a result of the explosion.
In Volgograd, FSB officers detained a 50-year-old man suspected of treason. According to law enforcement, since 2017, the suspect has supported a terrorist organization and subscribed to a pro-Ukrainian Telegram channel. He established contact with the Security Service of Ukraine and offered assistance. In 2024, he photographed and filmed ammunition depots in Volgograd and planned to provide Ukraine with information on the locations of Russian Ministry of Defense facilities, the movements of Russian military convoys, and other data.
A resident of Kerch is set to be tried on charges of treason for allegedly working for the Main Directorate of Intelligence [HUR]. According to investigators, the accused established contact with the agency, gathered information on the operation of air defense systems in Kerch, and transferred the information to the Ukrainian side in exchange for payment. The identity of the accused remains unknown.
A Moscow court increased Aleksey Badmaev's sentence from 7 to 14 years in a maximum security penal colony. In late January, he was sentenced for a comment on the VKontakte social network. According to investigators, the 21-year-old resident of Ulan-Ude posted a message in support of the Freedom of Russia Legion and donated 500 rubles [$6.17] to the Russian Volunteer Corps. He was found guilty of treason, justifying terrorism, and attempting to create, lead, or fund an armed group.
Children
Vazhnyye Istorii reported that Major Igor Yurgin, the commander of the assault squad known for its participation in "meat assaults" and refusal to return the bodies of deceased convicts, has been appointed head of the Department of State Policy in Education of the Ministry of Education. He will now be responsible for the patriotic and moral education of children nationwide.
Assistance
In the Khanty-Mansi autonomous region–Yugra [Russia's federal subject], the one-time assistance to war veterans and their relatives who decided to start their own business has increased to 350,000 rubles [$4,320]. Previously, the payment was 220,000 rubles [$2,720].
Russian regions have been tasked by the federal government with preparing war veterans for employment in the civil service. They will need to prepare 30 to 60 people per year.
According to the Vyorstka media outlet, the Presidential Administration is going to use an organization called the "Association of Veterans of the Special Military Operation" to monitor war veterans returning from the frontline. Its leaders are actively running for regional MPs from United Russia [Putin's ruling party], and the association itself receives PR support and direct budgetary transfers from the authorities. In 2025 alone, the organization is to receive 215 million rubles [$2.66 million]. Dmitry Sablin, a State Duma member whom the outlet's sources refer to as "the chief for veterans" in the Russian government, is behind the association.
Longreads
The Sibir.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet has published the story of a conscript who found himself in the war, was wounded and now intends to seek punishment for those who allowed him to be sent to a combat zone.
The Vot Tak [Like This] media outlet tells how and why the Russian authorities are reducing the number of mobilized soldiers by forcing them to sign a contract.
Mediazona tells the story of Valentyna Zayarna, an Amvrosiivka teacher who sheltered a Ukrainian soldier in the summer of 2022. The man has already returned home through a prisoner exchange, but the woman is now being tried for terrorism.
The journalists' cooperative Bereg [Shore] published materials about the "Museum of the Special Military Operation" in the former Ukrainian pavilion at Moscow’s VDNKh, a permanent general-purpose trade show and amusement park.
BBC News Russian reports on monuments to the heroes of the "Special Military Operation" installed by the hundreds across Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion
The Insider [independent Russian investigative media outlet] reports on the rise of militarization of Russian schools by the fourth year of the war.