Mobilization in Russia for Nov. 30-Dec. 2, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary
Authorities and Legislation
The Russian Ministry of Labor announced that the recent legislative changes extending a social program to former participants in the war against Ukraine will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026. Unemployed veterans and those seeking work will be able to sign a one-time social contract to launch a business and receive a grant of up to 350,000 rubles [$4,500] and up to 30,000 rubles [$390] for a three-month training course. Unlike other applicants, these former service members will not need to show that their income falls below the subsistence minimum. Instead, they will need to hold war participant status, be discharged from service, register with the employment agency, and secure a recommendation from the Defenders of the Fatherland Fund.
Army Recruitment
In Russia’s constituent republic Bashkortostan, Governor Radiy Khabirov extended the regional bonus of one million rubles [$12,900] for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense until Dec. 31. The amount was last modified in June 2025. With the inclusion of the federal component of 400,000 rubles [$5,150], recruits from the region will continue to receive a total of 1.4 million rubles [$18,000].
The Interior Ministry announced that on Nov. 19, twelve migration control checkpoints began operating at airports across Russia. Their stated purpose is to "identify foreign nationals who violate migration laws." The checkpoints opened at Moscow’s aviation hub as well as in the airports of Saint Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Yekaterinburg and other cities. Media outlets also released a report showing draft office employees and military investigators stopping men at Yekaterinburg’s airport for inspection. Those who are not registered for military service are issued draft notices and "blocked from leaving the country." The checks applied only to naturalized Russian citizens. Human rights advocates say the video appears to be an attempt to intimidate draft-eligible naturalized citizens into voluntarily registering for military service. The raids are not large-scale but have been taking place regularly since August 2024, when amendments to the Citizenship Law came into force allowing authorities to strip naturalized men of their Russian passports if they fail to register for military service. Over the past two months, cases of citizenship revocation have been reported in the Zabaykalsky region as well as in the Volgograd, Chelyabinsk and Rostov regions.
In Saint Petersburg, law enforcement conducted a raid during which more than 1,500 people were checked. Fifty-seven of them, all of whom were recently naturalized citizens who had not registered for military service, were issued draft notices and taken to the draft office for "verification and to resolve the issue of military registration."
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
Two more Russian soldiers from the 6th Motorized Rifle Division have been reported murdered by their commanders. According to the family of one of the killed, 43-year-old Maksim Polukhin from the Lipetsk region signed a contract in July 2022. The last time he contacted his relatives was on Sept. 16, and a month later, they received a call from an unknown number. The caller identified himself as a commander and stated that Polukhin was "very ill and would not be able to contact them for now." Later, the soldier's relatives submitted a missing person report, but received no response. Polukhin was listed as missing in action for a long time and was also declared AWOL. In April 2024, the remains of Polukhin and his fellow soldier, Aleksandr Baranov, were found. It was discovered that Polukhin and Baranov were killed by the deputy commander of the 6th Motorized Rifle Division, Colonel Yevgeny Malyshko. On Oct. 4, 2022, Malyshko ordered his subordinates to bring Polukhin and Baranov to him, citing alleged disciplinary violations. Polukhin's hands were tied, and he was taken to a forest near the village of Fedorivka in the Zaporizhzhia region. There, Malyshko shot Polukhin and forced other soldiers to do the same. Baranov was killed in the same manner. After that, the colonel ordered his subordinates to bury the bodies. Previously, Malyshko was reported to have commanded the murder of seven division soldiers in July 2023 on the orders of the division commander, Marat Ospanov. For this, in February 2025, Malyshko was sentenced to 20 years in a maximum security penal colony, and his subordinate, Senior Sergeant Roman Timonin, was sentenced to 18 years in a maximum security penal colony. No information has been provided about the sentence for Marat Ospanov and another defendant, Warrant Officer Yevgeny Chukanov. Polukhin's family has filed a lawsuit against the MoD demanding compensation for moral damages in the amount of 10 million rubles [$129,000] to the mother and brother of the deceased.
The Second Western District Military Court has sentenced Vladimir Parfiryev, a participant in Russia’s war against Ukraine, to 19 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of murder, attempted murder, and carjacking. According to investigators, in March 2025 Parfiryev, while intoxicated, killed a fellow soldier and a taxi driver on the M‑5 highway, then attempted to kill a witness and stole a car. Parfiryev pleaded guilty, telling the court that he mistook his fellow soldier and the taxi driver "for Ukrainian servicemen who had captured him."
In Azerbaijan, a court has sentenced Ismayil Hasanov, a native of the Tovuz region, to three years and six months in prison for participating in Russia’s war against Ukraine as a member of the Wagner Group. Hasanov was convicted under provisions of Azerbaijan’s criminal code covering participation in illegal armed groups abroad. Before the war, Hasanov had multiple prior convictions. In 2015, a Russian court sentenced him to 12 years in a penal colony for drug trafficking and involvement in a criminal organization. While serving that sentence, he joined the Wagner Group. Hasanov later claimed he did not take part in combat but was involved in evacuating the wounded.
The Tomsk Garrison Military Court sentenced servicemember Yevgeny Ankudinov to two years in a penal colony for armed robbery. According to the court, on Aug. 20, 2025, Ankudinov entered a store while intoxicated, threatened the shop assistant with an airsoft pistol, and stole alcohol. Ankudinov was returned to Russia during the May 23-25, 2025 POW exchange.
Former head of Perm’s Industrialny District Dmitry Drobinin, previously accused of embezzling 500,000 rubles [$6,440] belonging to a charitable foundation and of accepting a 30,000-rubles [$390] bribe, has been detained once again for giving of a bribe on an especially large scale. According to investigators, Drobinin attempted to hand over 3 million rubles [$38,600] in order to be declared unfit for service and effectively released from deployment to the war. The court ordered his arrest for two months. Drobinin signed a contract in 2024 while still under investigation for the initial bribery and fraud case. In the spring of 2025, reports emerged about his deployment to a combat zone.
The Abakan Garrison Military Court sentenced a junior sergeant to six years and six months in a maximum security penal colony for desertion. According to investigators, he failed to return to his unit on Aug. 10, 2024 and remained at home for more than 14 months until he was detained by police on Oct. 12, 2025. As noted by The Voyennye Advokaty [Military Lawyers] Telegram channel, criminal cases involving desertion based on extended periods of going AWOL are becoming increasingly common: if the period of absence exceeds nine months, investigators have been instructed to classify such offenses as desertion.
In annexed Crimea, the Federal Security Service (FSB) killed a man who, according to the agency, attempted to plant explosives under the vehicle of "a senior officer" of the MoD. This marks the 72nd death during an FSB detention since the start of the full-scale war. The deceased, whom intelligence services identified as a Ukrainian citizen, allegedly offered armed resistance and was "neutralized." According to the agency, he was preparing to plant a homemade bomb under a Russian serviceman's vehicle on orders from Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate of the MoD. An alleged "accomplice" of the deceased, a Crimean resident, was also detained and sent to a pre-trial detention center on charges of aiding terrorist activities. In detention footage, a law enforcement officer escorts the man into a building by the arm as he leans on a crutch. The agency's statement names Rustem Fakhriev, described as "an officer of the Main Directorate of Intelligence," as the "organizer of the act of terror."
The Southern District Military Court sentenced Viktor Krymsky, a resident of the Stavropol region, to 13 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of attempted terrorist attack, participation in an extremist organization, and treason. According to investigators, on June 18, 2024, Krymsky passed information about the location of an air defense system near Sochi airport to a member of the Right Sector [coalition of right-wing Ukrainian organizations] and marked on a map the locations of units, ammunition containers, fuel tanks, underground fuel storage, and railway tracks. On June 28, 2024, Krymsky formally joined the Right Sector by recording a video address, and on July 3 provided the organization with information on equipment, personnel, and weapons at a military base in Stavropol, as well as the locations of regional FSB headquarters, the government building, the election commission, and the regional duma. He also allegedly planned to carry out a terrorist attack near the Stavropol region election commission building on voting day but was detained on Aug. 29.
The Tomsk regional court sentenced a teenager to eight and a half years in a penal colony on charges of treason, two counts of sabotage, and four counts of aiding sabotage. Details of the case and the teenager's name have not been disclosed.
The Supreme Court of Russia's constituent republic of Sakha (Yakutia) sentenced a local resident to 12 years and six months in a maximum security penal colony for treason. According to investigators, the man transferred money three times to a foreign paramilitary organization allegedly fighting against the Russian army. The court disclosed neither the convict's name nor the name of the organization.
22-year-old HSE graduate and winner of mathematical Olympiad Leonid Kats was arrested and sent to the pre-trial detention center in the case of treason after a series of four administrative arrests. For the first time he was detained on Oct. 1 in the Altufyevo district and sent for 15 days for "petty hooliganism" allegedly for obscene swearing. Then he was arrested three more times in a row for petty hooliganism and police disobedience. The details of the treason charges against Katz are unknown. A young man was detained as a minor in 2021 at protests against the arrest of Alexei Navalny.
"The Supreme Court of the LPR" sentenced Yulia Mosyazh, a resident of the village of Novoaidar, to 16 years in a penal colony on charges of treason. According to the investigation, the 51-year-old woman communicated via a messenger with the military intelligence officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and since March 2022 she has been hiding two Ukrainian servicemen at home. In December 2023, to help them reach unoccupied Ukrainian territory, Mosyazh sent the "Ukrainian intelligence officer" photos of medical documents and samples of medical records. In response, the officer sent fictitious documents for servicemen hiding with Mosyazh. The Ukrainian soldiers then tried to leave the "LPR," but they were caught at the checkpoint.
Children and Militarization
Russian schools marked Mother’s Day with events honoring women whose sons are taking part in or have been killed in the war against Ukraine. In Mari El [Russia’s constituent republic], one school mounted a photo exhibition titled "Wife of a Hero. Mother of a Hero." In the Zabaykalsky region, members of the Yunarmiya youth military-patriotic movement held a tea gathering with the mothers of soldiers who were killed in combat. In the Tyumen region, schoolchildren delivered greeting cards to the mothers of war participants. In Bashkortostan, meanwhile, the mother of two soldiers—one mobilized and the other missing in action—spoke to schoolchildren, urging them to "remember the sacred duty of defending the Motherland."
Longreads
The Cherta [Boundary] independent online media outlet published stories of women who suffered domestic violence and were unable to achieve justice because their abusers enlisted in the war.
The Sibir.Realii online media outlet, part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, released a report detailing the involvement of small indigenous communities in the Khabarovsk region in the war against Ukraine.
Memorial Human Rights Defense Center published an overview documenting how, after 2022, Russian intelligence services built a large-scale system of false-flag setups actively pushing citizens toward "crimes" that would not have occurred without law enforcement intervention.
The Kavkaz.Realii online media outlet, part of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, spoke with human rights defenders about minors who have become victims of provocations orchestrated by law-enforcement officers.
A mobilized soldier who had been through the village of Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region told The Insider, an independent Russian investigative outlet, how commanders in his unit beat soldiers, kept them in cages, tied them to trees, and executed those who refused to fight.