Mobilization in Russia for Nov. 23-25, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary
Authorities and Legislation
The Russian government has introduced a bill in the State Duma [lower house of the Federal Assembly] that would establish special sentencing procedures for foreigner nationals and stateless persons who serve under contract and take part in combat with the Russian Armed Forces. This bill would effectively prohibit the extradition of such individuals, replacing it with mandatory labor or fines ranging from 1,000 to 50,000 rubles [$13-$640].
State Duma members from the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) [right-wing populist and ultranationalist political party] have introduced a bill proposing a partial amnesty for women to mark Mother’s Day. In addition to other categories of convicts, the proposal would grant amnesty to mothers whose husbands died or became disabled in the war against Ukraine.
Army Recruitment
Authorities in the Khanty-Mansi autonomous region–Yugra [Russia's federal subject] have raised the regional sign-up bonus for contracts with the Ministry of Defense from the 2.65 million rubles [$33,700] set in May of this year to 3.55 million rubles [$45,100]. This is currently the highest bonus offered anywhere in the country. Earlier, beginning in October, the highest payment was offered by authorities in the Tyumen region at 3 million rubles [$38,100]. As a result, taking into account the federal and municipal payments, a new recruit signing a contract in Yugra will receive a one-time total of 4.1 million rubles [$52,100].
The Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods/Get lost you all] Telegram channel reports new instances of roundups targeting conscription age men in the cities of Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod. Men are being stopped at residential building entrances, on the street or detained at home. Their phones are confiscated, after which they are taken to police stations and then to draft offices (or to the unified conscription center on Ugreshskaya Street in Moscow), where they are prepared for dispatch to military units "in the coming days." As the end of the fall draft approaches, the Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] Telegram channel expects an increase in detentions of conscription age men. In this context, lawyers are offering guidance on how to protect oneself during detention and forced delivery to a draft office.
The Ussuriysk Garrison Military Court has closed the criminal case against Lieutenant Aleksandr Yemelyanov, who last fall shot and killed 19-year-old conscript Artyom Antonov from Russia’s constituent republic of Tatarstan at a training range. Yemelyanov had been charged with violating weapons-handling rules that negligently resulted in a person’s death. The case file on the court’s website states that "the proceedings have been terminated due to conscription (contract service)." Antonov was shot at the Ilyinsky training range in the village of Kamen-Rybolov in the Primorsky region on Oct. 21 of last year. During instruction, Yemelyanov took an AK-12 assault rifle off safe and fired a burst toward the formation. One of the rounds struck Antonov in the head. Relatives previously reported that Antonov had been beaten and subjected to abuse for refusing to sign a contract and go to war with Ukraine.
Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts
Aleksey Fyodorov, a member of one of the most violent criminal groups of the 1990s, responsible for killing more than 20 people in Yekaterinburg within a year, has been released and is now living in the city after serving in the war. In 1997, Fyodorov avoided the death penalty and life imprisonment: the court sentenced him to 14 years for participating in a gang that, according to prosecutors, committed 21 murders and 46 armed robberies. In 2020, after being released from prison, he committed another crime by robbing cash couriers, for which he received an eight-year prison sentence. In 2022, Fyodorov signed a contract with the Wagner Group, took part in the assault on Bakhmut, received awards and returned home about six months later after being pardoned.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
The Garrison Military Court in Yekaterinburg has sentenced 24-year-old Denis Pyrirko, a resident of the Yamal settlement of Panayevsk, to 12 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of abandoning his duty station, breaking into another person’s home and causing grievous bodily harm resulting in death by negligence. The details of the case are unknown, but based on the charges, he allegedly fled his unit, forced his way into someone’s home and beat the victim to death. In the fall of 2022, Pyrirko was convicted of theft, vehicle hijacking, property destruction and drunk driving. He most likely signed a contract with the MoD while serving in a penal colony.
A court in Yekaterinburg has begun hearing the criminal case against 26-year-old serviceman Ranis Samatov from Chelyabinsk, who has prior convictions and is charged with murder with extreme brutality. According to prosecutors, on Sept. 23, Samatov, who was on leave, had been drinking with Fyodor Ivanov, Gatiyatullin, Ismagilov and Stepan Sandin. A conflict broke out between the intoxicated Samatov and Sandin. Samatov and Gatiyatullin then allegedly took turns beating Sandin and, after he had lost consciousness, inflicted at least 150 stab wounds. The killing was recorded on video. All those involved were arrested the following day.
In Stavropol, Daniil Nemurov, a former Wagner Group mercenary, has been sentenced to four years in a penal colony for intentionally causing grievous bodily harm that is dangerous to life. In the summer of 2024, Nemurov had a quarrel with his relatives, after which he got into a car and attempted to run them over. In 2016, he was convicted of murder and violence against a police officer and was sentenced to 13 years in a maximum security penal colony. He may have gained his freedom by enlisting in the Wagner Group.
Law enforcement officers in the Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk regions have arrested seven members of a criminal group that recruited contract soldiers for the war with the aim of stealing their sign-up bonuses and payments for injury and death. A criminal case of large-scale fraud has been initiated, and the detainees have been remanded in custody. According to investigators, the victims of the criminals were men with an antisocial lifestyle. To persuade them to sign contracts with the MoD, the suspects provided them with temporary housing and medical treatment. After the contract was signed, the suspects obtained the status of legal representatives of the "new recruits" gaining the authority to manage their accounts. Women involved in the group entered into fictitious marriages with them. The number of victims and the estimated damage are being established.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) reported the murder of two residents of the Altai region [Russia's federal subject] who were allegedly preparing to commit sabotage on the railway. A criminal case has been opened on charges of sabotage, attempted murder of law enforcement officers and illegal acquisition and possession of weapons. According to the FSB, on Nov. 22, the men attempted to plant an explosive device on the railway between Altayskaya and Biysk stations. The Vot Tak [Like This] media outlet geolocated the scene to a railway bridge over the Losikha River in the Pervomaisky district. The FSB claims the men's actions were coordinated via Telegram by Ukrainian intelligence services. The alleged saboteurs "offered armed resistance and were neutralized by return fire," the agency stated. The FSB published video footage of the operation; however, it contains no frames showing the men resisting. Only after the murder does the recording show two dead men, one holding an AK assault rifle and a pistol lying next to the other. This marks the 72nd person killed during an FSB detention since the start of the full-scale war, according to a tally by Vazhnyye Istorii [IStories, independent Russian investigative media outlet].
The Second Eastern District Military Court has sentenced four teenagers from Khakassia [Russia's constituent republic] to prison terms for damaging relay cabinets and attempting to set fire to a locomotive. Two minors were sentenced to six and seven years in a juvenile penal colony, respectively. Two other defendants, who had turned 18, were sentenced to six years in a general regime penal colony. Three were found guilty of involvement in an act of terror, while the fourth convict was charged with aiding terrorism. All defendants were minors at the time of their detention. According to investigators, on May 2, 2024, two teenagers set fire to two relay cabinets between Askiz and Chartykovsky stations at the direction of an unknown individual. Two days later, one of them, along with an acquaintance, planned to set fire to a locomotive as well, but the young men were detained. They had been promised payment for the arsons, and the fourth defendant provided the bank account for the money transfer.
A court in Perm has placed two 17-year-old teenagers in a pre-trial detention center, accusing them of committing an act of terror by prior conspiracy. According to investigators, on the night of Nov. 22, the minors set fire to a transformer substation in exchange for payment from an unidentified individual.
Law enforcement officers have detained a 14-year-old teenager for setting fire to relay cabinets on the Moscow Railway. The court placed the teenager in a pre-trial detention center, and a case on an act of terror was initiated. According to the police, following an assignment received from an unknown person via messenger, the teenager damaged facilities on Nov. 21 on the railway section between Pavshino and Nakhabino stations. The exact number of affected facilities was not specified.
A criminal case on an act of terror was initiated against a 40-year-old unemployed man for setting fire to a cell tower in the Leningrad region. According to law enforcement officers, "Ukrainian handlers" promised the drug-addicted man a monetary reward but did not pay him anything after he completed the assignment.
The FSB and the Investigative Committee have reported the arrest of a 17-year-old resident of the Kaliningrad region, accused of preparing an act of terror. A court has placed him in pre-trial detention. According to investigators, the detained teenager, an 11th-grade student, was ordered to commit the arson via Telegram by a representative of the Freedom of Russia Legion. He reportedly conducted reconnaissance of the target, acquired supplies and constructed homemade incendiary devices. The court report also stated that the teenager wanted to set fire to the Church of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki in the town of Ladushkin for a promised reward. On Nov. 22, FSB officers arrested him near the church.
In Bryansk, 16-year-old Grigory Vashchekin is being prosecuted for allegedly assisting the Russian Volunteer Corps in blowing up a bridge. He is accused of aiding terrorist activities, as well as illegally possessing and transporting explosives, and has been held in pre-trial detention for six months. Vashchekin was detained on June 10, 2025. According to investigators, he joined the Russian Volunteer Corps, retrieved an explosive device from its hiding place and hid it near the Oktyabrsky Bridge in Bryansk, where he was later detained by security services.
In Tomsk, 21‑year‑old entrepreneur Timur Kilin has been taken into custody on charges of treason. Kilin launched a virtual hosting service in 2023 and this year founded a company focused on IT security. His work reportedly included deanonymizing administrators of darknet websites and investigating fraudulent schemes on Telegram. According to the Agentstvo [Agency] independent media outlet, Kilin also used his Telegram channel to criticize the MAX messenger app, a draft law from MinTsifry [the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of Russia] aimed at combating cyber fraud, and filed a lawsuit against the Russian hosting operator Aeza Group, which is currently under US sanctions.
Russian courts have sentenced four residents of occupied regions of Ukraine to prison terms ranging from 12 to 16 years on charges of treason and espionage. Yurii Zinchenko, a 39‑year‑old resident of the Kamianka‑Dniprovska district, Zaporizhzhia region, received a 16‑year sentence in a maximum security penal colony for treason. Prosecutors alleged that in December 2023 he provided information to a representative of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) about the locations of personnel from Rosgvardia [the Russian National Guard] along with military vehicles and checkpoints in Enerhodar "for fire damage correction." In the Luhansk region, a female resident of the Bilovodsk district was sentenced to 15 years in a penal colony in a treason case. Authorities did not disclose her name or provide further details regarding the charges. Serhii Honcharov, a 25‑year‑old Ukrainian citizen, was sentenced to 14 years in a penal colony for espionage. He allegedly passed information about Russian soldiers to Ukraine. Mykola Holodnyi, a resident of the Kherson region, was sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony on espionage charges. Investigators claim that in the fall of 2023 he collected data on the movement and deployment of the RuAF vehicles and personnel.
Assistance
In Russia's constituent republic Sakha (Yakutia), children of soldiers killed in the war against Ukraine have stopped receiving the enhanced stipends, according to the mother of two university students. She said the basic student payments continue, but the higher stipend has not been paid since August. Regional officials confirmed that the students remain on the eligibility list, but could not say when the money would arrive. Other families report the same problem. The development comes just days after authorities acknowledged that payouts to surviving veterans themselves have been suspended because of a deepening budget shortfall.
Longreads
Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] published excerpts from the testimony of Yurii Kaev, a businessman and Red Cross volunteer who became a defendant in the so-called "Kherson Nine" case, a group of Kherson residents abducted in the summer of 2022 and held for two months, during which they were tortured into confessing to an alleged plot to assassinate head of the Russian-installed Kherson Military-Civilian Administration Kyrylo Stremousov, who was later killed.
Sotavision spoke with human rights advocates about how Russian authorities might use a "mobilization reserve," a pool of individuals who could be tasked with protecting critical infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the Vyorstka media outlet reports that Cubans fighting for Russia, and even relatives arriving to bury those killed, are being fined en masse for violating Russia’s migration and residency rules.