Mobilization in Russia for May 31-June 2, 2024 CIT Volunteer Summary

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

In Moscow, authorities are attempting to force a local resident suffering from high blood pressure to perform his statutory military service. According to relatives, 23-year-old Artur Ulayev has certificates confirming his medical condition and has petitioned a court to review an earlier draft board decision. The hearing was scheduled for June 13. However, on June 1, police officers approached the young man in a shopping mall and informed him that a military commissariat [enlistment office] ordered his detention for allegedly failing to report in without a valid reason. They took him to a draft office, where officials attempted to send him to serve on the same day. At the time of writing, Ulayev was at a military collection point. His loved ones had not heard from him for almost a day. Following a roundup the previous weekend, officials had been holding several dozen young men at a Moscow military collection point on Ugreshskaya Street. They later dispatched some of them to military units in Mosrentgen [a neighborhood of Moscow] and other regions.

Authorities and Relatives of Mobilized Soldiers

The Put Domoy [Way Home] movement of mobilized soldiers’ wives, has reportedly no intention of suspending its activities despite the authorities’ decision to designate it as a "foreign agent." "Our demands have not gone away and will remain. We demand the return of our men home! We demand clear timelines and answers from authorities," one of the movement’s members told a TV Rain [independent Russian television channel] journalist.

Mobilized Soldiers, Volunteer Fighters and Contract Soldiers

The list of mobilized soldiers killed in the war has been updated to include Stanislav Pfeif and Ivan Kobzev from the Krasnodar region, Artyom Bedyukh from the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous region [Russia's federal subject], as well as Vladislav Pozdeyev, Roman Akilov and Vladimir Bozhya-Volya from the Sverdlovsk region.

In the Primorsky region [Russia's federal subject], the sister of Vasily Durman, a contract soldier from the 114th Motorized Rifle Regiment, has been trying for three months to have him transferred for medical treatment, but her efforts have been unsuccessful. Durman is neither listed among the wounded nor released from the forward positions to a military hospital. Moreover, he is not allowed to receive treatment at his own expense in a civilian hospital, has not been granted leave—though his healthy fellow soldiers regularly receive it—and has not received a combat veteran certificate. In an effort to prevent further complaints, commanding officers have threatened him. According to the soldier’s sister, his case is far from the only one in his military unit.

In response to numerous complaints from relatives of mobilized soldiers from the Primorsky region about the forced return of wounded soldiers and "refuseniks" to the frontline, Vesti Primorya [News of the Primorsky region], a local TV channel, released a story labeling the mothers and wives recording appeals as "useful idiots" and accusing them of discrediting the Russian Armed Forces. The story featured alleged soldiers from the military unit in question and their relatives, who expressed gratitude to the command of the 114th Regiment and claimed that all the information being spread through unofficial sources was false. The command of the unit and the 5th Army also appealed to the prosecutor’s office regarding the posts by the Ostorozhno, Media [Beware the media] Telegram Channel, which covered the situation. In response, the women featured in the story filed an appeal to the Investigative Committee against the TV channel’s editorial office for spreading "unreliable, offensive information." They stated that the journalists had made no attempts to contact them to verify the information and provide them with an opportunity to speak out.

According to the Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods/Get lost you all] Telegram channel, in the Krasnoyarsk region, mobilized soldiers under investigation for going AWOL are being forcibly taken back to the war. The wife of one of the men reported that those "who did not return to the frontline and are awaiting trial" were forcibly sent back to the frontline. It is reported that on May 13, 21 people were taken, followed by another 15 to 20 men.

Volunteer fighter Aleksey Motorny from the Rostov region has been unlawfully detained and is being sent to an assault brigade. On April 5, an unknown individual attacked him near his home, after which Motorny was taken to the military commandant's office, where he was informed that a criminal case for going AWOL had been opened against him. According to Motorny, he should have been discharged from the army long ago due to health issues: he had suffered a concussion, chemical burns, a heart attack, and had a stent implanted. However, he could not be discharged at the end of his short-term contract because he was in the hospital. Now, due to mobilization, he is not allowed to terminate his contract or undergo a military medical board. According to Motorny's wife, on June 1, "without any explanation, documents or orders," he and about 60 others were put on buses and taken to an unknown location. They are now being formed into assault units within the 110th Motorized Rifle Brigade.

Wounded mobilized soldier Aleksey Gaun from the city of Volgograd is being sent back to the combat zone despite having received a disability. According to his sister, a criminal case for going AWOL was opened against him after it was discovered that he did not report for duty at the scheduled time. Last Friday, Gaun was summoned to his unit, forcibly put on a bus and taken to the airport. The soldier believes he is being taken to the city of Rostov, where they are forming another Storm assault unit from soldiers like him and sending them to the "special military operation."

A miner from the Luhansk region with hepatitis C was mobilized in the "LPR" in 2022, despite his chronic illness and the fact that he never had a military ID, never underwent a medical evaluation board and never served in the army. During the war, the mobilized man was wounded and, after treatment, moved with his family to Rostov-on-Don. On March 5, 2024, he was detained while applying for car insurance, taken to the police and then to a military unit, where he was informed of a criminal case against him for going AWOL. He was held there for more than two months, but neither he nor his lawyer was allowed to review the case materials. On June 1, he and other mobilized men were taken to a training range near the town of Ilovaisk.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

An armed gang of former Russian convicts has stolen tractors from residents in occupied territories, causing damages amounting to several dozen million rubles. According to the Astra Telegram channel, the suspects involved in the robberies include Tamirlan Baragunov, a previously convicted native of North Ossetia [Russia's constituent republic], as well as Arslanbek Baragunov, a previously convicted counterfeiter, and Ruslan Ilimov, a convict for drug offenses. There are also other suspects in the case, who have not been detained.

A court in the Volgograd region has found former Wagner Group mercenary Yevgeny Manokhin guilty of making death threats and using violence, including against police officers, but sentenced him to only one year and three months of probation. In delivering the verdict, the court took into account his participation in the war. The verdict also stated that Manokhin "had no prior convictions," although in reality, he had been convicted eight times. This suggests that he was fully pardoned by Putin’s decree.

In Kalmykia [Russia’s constituent republic], the number of crimes involving the use of weapons more than doubled in the first four months of 2024, according to an analytical report by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. This republic ranked first in the country for the increase in such crimes, with an increase of 114%, followed closely by Saint Petersburg with an increase of 113%.

Last Wednesday in Moscow, R.V. Mayorov was arrested on charges of cooperation on a confidential basis with a foreign state, international or foreign organization. Apart from the case card on the court's website, no additional information is available.

Nikita Klyunya, a 19-year-old activist from Karelia [Russia’s constituent republic], has been sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment on charges of organizing a terrorist attack, aiding terrorist activities, treason, cooperation with a foreign state and public calls for or justification of terrorism. According to the Civic Alliance of Russia social movement, the court hearing was held behind closed doors. The details of the case are classified, and the lawyer signed a non-disclosure agreement. Federal Security Service (FSB) officers detained Klyunya on the night of March 8, 2023. According to law enforcement, he allegedly participated in sabotage on the railway.

Mikhail Dary, 48, has been held in a pre-trial detention center since Sept. 11, 2023, facing accusations of terrorist affiliations. He was apprehended at Sheremetyevo Airport upon his arrival from Moldova, where he had been evading mobilization since Dec. 22, 2022. His ex-wife contends that Dary’s arrest is linked to his role in moderating an anti-war chat on Telegram. Dary is accused of participating in an act of terror committed in a group, which did not result in any casualties. According to investigators, Dary was a member of both a "terrorist organization" and a "Ukrainian paramilitary group." The court's documents reference the Russian neo-Nazi faction NS/WP and the "Freedom of Russia Legion." In a letter to Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet], Dary denied any involvement in these organizations. His ex-wife has shared that Dary has been subjected to beatings while in the pre-trial detention center.

Children and Educational System

In Orenburg, the "Bring Your Dreams to Life!" festival, held on Children's Day, featured a weapons exhibition and a master class on assault rifle assembly.

Longreads

The Idel.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet has published an article about Samara businessmen who are being coerced into donating up to 1 million rubles [$11,100] to the Zvezda i Lira [Star and Lyre] foundation, headed by Yekaterina Kolotovkina, the wife of Lieutenant General Andrey Kolotovkin, the former commander of the 2nd Combined Arms Army.

The Vot Tak [Like This] media outlet’s article describes how the Artek children's center has become another propaganda platform.

Russian authorities promised one-time payments and housing purchase certificates to people evacuated from the Kherson region. However, not everyone has received them. The Novaya Vkladka [New Tab] media outlet has detailed difficulties with Russian bureaucracy for former residents of Ukraine.

A Russian state worker visited the occupied territories of Ukraine and recorded his conversations with locals. He later shared these audio recordings with Meduza [international Russian-language online media outlet]. Based on this information, Meduza has prepared an extensive report on the lives of Ukrainians in occupation.