Mobilization in Russia for May 7-10, 2026 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

Russia's Ministry of Defense proposed expanding its authority to control the ideology and behavior of military personnel. Under a draft presidential decree published on May 6 amending its regulations, the ministry would gain the power to identify service members with "behavioral deviations" and manage their cases. The initiative would create a centralized system to identify "risk factors," targeting not only soldiers who have already committed offenses, but also those whose behavior commanders consider potentially problematic. "Deviations" could include psychological traits, disciplinary violations or departures from the established moral and political course. The military intends to use these measures to restrict access to weapons or classified information, mandate psychiatric evaluations and apply additional disciplinary measures.

Army Recruitment

Under the guise of a transfer to a sports company, commanders tricked Elvin Dzyazko, a 24-year-old mixed martial arts medalist from Vladivostok, into signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense after he was drafted for statutory military service. On April 16, 2026, Dzyazko and other conscripts arrived at the 92nd Special Purpose Radio Technical Brigade of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces' General Staff in the Primorsky region. That same day, officers began pressuring the draftees to enlist, claiming that those who refused were "not men" and "not patriots." The following day, Lt. Col. Igor Naumov offered Dzyazko the option to sign a formal request to complete his statutory military service in a sports company, an offer Dzyazko accepted. However, a few days later, the soldier discovered he had actually signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense. Subsequently, Dzyazko and his grandmother, who is his legal guardian, filed formal appeals to terminate the contract but have received no response. According to relatives, the unit's deputy commander for political affairs assured the conscript's grandmother that he would first "go to Ukraine for a week," receive veteran status, and then be deployed to Syria. The conscript said the unit had received an order to send 30 contract soldiers to Syria. Reports also indicate that two orphans are serving in the unit alongside Dzyazko. Commanders tried to persuade them to enlist by saying, "No one is waiting for you anyway."

In the city of Ivanovo, around ten conscripts who had reported in response to summons for a medical board examination were taken to a contract military service recruitment center, where they were pressured for five hours to sign contracts with the MoD. This was reported by pro-war volunteer Yevgeny Shmantsar. According to him, during the recruitment pitch the promised signing bonus was repeatedly increased—from 1.2 million rubles [$16,100] to 2 million rubles [$26,800]—after which the young men were made to write autobiographies. One of the conscripts said the recruiters urged them to return the following day to sign contracts and undergo medical examinations, and then called them again the next morning with reminders.

At Siberian Federal University in the city of Krasnoyarsk, the MoD has reportedly authorized the recruitment of women for contract service in the UAV forces, according to one student. The offer reportedly targets female students in the translation and interpreting program with a specialization in Spanish. The message states that the number of places is "strictly limited” and that parental permission is required to sign a contract. Students "for whom this information is relevant and of interest” are instructed to contact the university administration.

Kuvonchbek Temirganiyev, a 21-year-old resident of the city of Yekaterinburg arrested in a murder case, signed a contract with the MoD and was sent to the war against Ukraine while still under investigation. According to investigators, on Oct. 30, 2025, after an argument with his mother, Temirganiyev stabbed her to death, then dismembered and concealed the remains in bushes. Following his arrest, Temirganiyev pleaded guilty. According to media reports, he told investigators during questioning that he had been in constant conflict with his mother.

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 217,808 Russian fighters killed in Ukraine, including 18,671 mobilized soldiers. Over the past week, the list has grown by 1,603 soldiers.

Additionally, Mediazona and Meduza [international Russian-language online media outlet] have published a joint study of Russian losses in the war based on data from the National Probate Registry and the named list of the deceased. According to the researchers' calculations, the number of men between the ages of 18 and 59 who were killed in the war by the end of 2025 amounted to 352,000 people. The estimate excludes citizens of other countries, but for the first time includes those missing in action, who were declared dead or missing in court in the absence of a body. The journalists estimated their number at 90,000 people, although this estimate is relevant to mid-2025. The most recent data is unavailable due to delays in declaring missing soldiers dead.

In the city of Saransk, Mordovia [Russia's constituent republic], the draft office has been trying to identify the whereabouts of mobilized soldiers who have gone AWOL through their wives. A serviceman has reported that the draft office has begun sending registered mail to the wives of mobilized soldiers. The letter stated that the serviceman is listed as AWOL and requested that his whereabouts be reported to the draft office address or by phone.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

The Southern District Military Court reviewed two cases involving absentia pretrial restrictions for Russian servicemen. Contract soldier Ilyas Beshliev was accused of going AWOL, but it later emerged that he failed to appear at the hearing because he was already being held in a pretrial detention center in connection with another criminal case under the same charge. In March, he was sentenced in that case to five years in a maximum security penal colony. A second serviceman, Ilyas Laipanov from Pyatigorsk, was charged with two counts of going AWOL. He appeared at a preliminary hearing, where he was placed under the supervision of military command as a pretrial measure. He later fled and stopped appearing in court, after which the measure was changed to pretrial detention.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, more than 430 cases involving charges of abandoning military service have been referred to the local garrison military court in Vladimir, including 56 since the beginning of this year. By comparison, the court received 132 such criminal cases in 2024, 78 in 2023, and only eight in all of 2022.

In Yekaterinburg, a 17-year-old boy was arrested in a case involving an attempted act of sabotage. A court ordered him held in a pretrial detention center until July 6. According to investigators, in April 2026, he attempted to set fire to a transformer at an electrical substation in one of the city’s districts.

The Investigative Committee announced the completion of an investigation against a 16-year-old teenager from the Voronezh region accused of preparing an act of terror and illegal trafficking of explosives. According to investigators, in May 2025 the teenager began corresponding with representatives of Ukrainian intelligence and later surveilled and photographed the car of a Russian serviceman. Authorities claim he received about 29,000 rubles [$390] in cryptocurrency for doing so. Law enforcement officers further allege that the teenager later retrieved explosives from a stash in the city of Liski and was supposed to plant them on the serviceman’s car, but was detained by officers of the Federal Security Service (FSB). The minor is currently being held in a pre-trial detention center, and his case is being prepared for transfer to court.

A 21-year-old resident of Buzuluk in the Orenburg region, Andrey Grigo, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of intended treason and preparing to participate in a terrorist organization. According to investigators, he submitted an application to join the Russian Volunteer Corps in January 2025. Grigo was detained on March 16, 2025, at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport as he was preparing to fly to Batumi. The young man had previously been arrested for five days and fined in an administrative case involving the display of banned symbols. Mediazona noted that Grigo identified with the far right and opposed the invasion of Ukraine.

The Second Western District Military Court sentenced 26-year-old Moscow resident Yegor Grafov to 12 and a half years in a penal colony on charges of committing an act of terror and damaging a cultural heritage site. According to investigators, Grafov was contacted on Telegram in the spring of 2025 by an unidentified person posing as an FSB officer, who persuaded him to carry out an arson attack. In the early hours of April 23, 2025, the young man threw two Molotov cocktails at an FSB building in central Moscow. The fire was quickly extinguished, but the building’s façade and decorative granite cladding were damaged. The structure has protected cultural heritage status. Grafov was detained on April 24, 2025. During the trial, he claimed he had acted on the instructions of scammers. He was initially also charged with vandalism.

The Leningrad Regional Court sentenced Ilya Tarasov, 29, a resident of Priozersk, to 12 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of high treason. The charges stemmed from a $150 transfer to a Ukrainian charitable foundation made in February 2022. According to investigators, the money was intended for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but Tarasov insisted that he was sending funds to help Ukrainian civilians. He was detained on March 11, 2025. Court documents also noted that he had spoken out against the war and followed Ukrainian Telegram channels.

Children and Militarization

The Ne Norma [Not a Norm] Telegram channel reports on how May 9 celebrations unfolded in Russian kindergartens. Dozens of "Victory Parades" were held at preschools across the country. Young children were dressed in uniforms representing different branches of the military, lined up in formation and handed toy assault rifles. In many regions, the participation of veterans of the "special military operation" was mandatory.

Assistance

More than 3,500 participants of the war against Ukraine who have been discharged from service live in Tatarstan [Russia’s constituent republic], stated the republic's Vice Prime Minister Leyla Fazleeva. She claims that approximately 70% of those who have returned from the front are currently employed. In July 2025, Head of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov claimed that roughly 45,000 residents of the region have either served in the war or remain active participants. Earlier, in March 2025, he cited a specific figure of 38,169 contract and mobilized soldiers from the republic.

The government of Bashkortostan [Russia's constituent republic] has reduced the regional death benefit for families of fallen soldiers to 100,000 rubles [$1,340]. In April 2022, the one-time payment for the families of deceased service members and employees of Rosgvardia [the Russian National Guard] was set at 2 million rubles [$26,800]. The amount was later cut to 1 million rubles [$13,400], then to 500,000 rubles [$6,700], and finally reduced again.

Longreads

The Cherta [Boundary] independent online media outlet has published monologues from anti-war parents regarding how Russian schools and after-school programs are involving children in a militaristic agenda.