Mobilization in Russia for Nov. 4-6, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary
Authorities and Legislation
Vladimir Putin signed a decree expanding monthly compensation payments previously limited to contract soldiers participating in the war against Ukraine. The decree extends these payments to military personnel performing tasks "to repel an armed invasion onto Russian territory" and operating "in Russian regions bordering the zones of the special military operation." The decree takes effect immediately and is retroactive to Aug. 6, 2024.
Putin also approved a new temporary procedure for certain foreigners to obtain Russian citizenship. The measure applies to service members who served under contract or were dismissed by the army after Feb. 24, 2022, as well as to their families. According to the decree, individuals can apply for citizenship based on either an extract from their Armed Forces dismissal order or a decision by the relevant commission.
Army Recruitment
Law enforcement officers conducted another raid in Saratov and checked 200 drivers. They served draft notices to 20 naturalized citizens who failed to register for military service.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and IncidentsÂ
In the village of Voznesenovka in the Belgorod region, Russian Armed Forces serviceman Aleksey Kostrikin was detained after previously breaking into the home of a married couple in the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka, killing the husband, and raping his wife, before escaping from custody following his arrest. The Investigative Committee confirmed the information about his detention. Reportedly, the serviceman was found by chance—when he attempted to buy alcohol at a village store, law enforcement officers arrived at the building. During the arrest, his legs were shot. Kostrikin is also suspected of committing another murder after his escape, as well as of an assault on a woman that occurred a day before the first murder.
In Saint Petersburg, 41-year-old former war participant Yevgeny Gordeyev was arrested on charges of attempted murder. According to the court, on Oct. 31, Gordeyev and a friend visited a brothel, where a conflict arose between them and the security staff. One of the men headbutted Gordeyev in the nose, after which he pulled out a folding knife and stabbed the guard in the neck. The victim survived. In court, Gordeyev partially pleaded guilty, stating that it was an "automatic reaction." He had previously been prosecuted six times.
Also in Saint Petersburg, Yevgeny Pushminin, a 28-year-old serviceman from the Irkutsk region, has been detained on charges of stealing a car and striking a child with it. According to the Astra Telegram channel, on Oct. 18, drunk Pushminin had a dispute with his girlfriend, stole her car and tried to evade the police. During the pursuit, he crashed the stolen car twice and hit a 12-year-old boy, who was taken to the intensive care unit with severe injuries. Despite the police's attempts to stop the vehicle by shooting at its wheels, the serviceman continued on. At the time of the crime, Pushminin was wanted.
The First Eastern District Military Court has sentenced contract soldier Nikita Lugovsky to 13 years in prison on charges of treason and laundering money obtained by criminal means. Since May 2024, Lugovsky has been assigned to a rear military unit located near the frontline. In August 2024, he was detained by FSB officers. According to law enforcement, Lugovsky provided Ukrainian intelligence with the coordinates of Russian military positions and transferred 50 USDT from a cryptocurrency wallet to his bank card. When human rights activists contacted him, Lugovsky denied his guilt, stating that he is being persecuted due to a conflict with his commander. However, during the investigation, Lugovsky admitted his guilt and agreed to a special procedure for considering the case.
The Stavropol Regional Court has sentenced former serviceman Nikolay Shevchenko from Budyonnovsk to 15 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of treason. He was also stripped of his military rank. According to investigators, in 2023 Shevchenko established contact with agents of Ukrainian intelligence services and passed along information about military units, defense facilities, and critical infrastructure in southern Russia, including details on a chemical plant in Budyonnovsk. In court, Shevchenko pleaded guilty to the charges.
The District Military Court issued a 19-year penal colony sentence to 42-year-old Ukrainian serviceman Andrii Humeniuk, a member of the Aidar Battalion. He was convicted of undergoing training for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activities and participating in a terrorist organization. According to the prosecution, in April 2023 Humeniuk voluntarily joined the Aidar Battalion. Case materials indicate that the charges rest solely on the fact of Humeniuk’s service in the unit, which has been designated by Russia as a terrorist organization.
A military court in Rostov sentenced 40-year-old resident of the Sakhalin region, Aleksandr Zhigun, to 20 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of participation in a terrorist organization, preparing an act of terror, illegal manufacture and possession of explosives, and treason. It is reported that Zhigun allegedly sent a video address to the Ukrainian unit Azov, and then began preparing to carry out a terrorist attack in the Stavropol region. To do this, he allegedly purchased a garage there but was detained by law enforcement officers.
In Novokuznetsk, a 23-year-old lathe operator was detained on charges of intentional property damage. Investigators believe the man fell under the influence of scammers who stole 400,000 rubles [$4,920] from him and his father. In exchange for the return of the money, on Nov. 4, the man attempted to set fire to an electrical substation, but failed. He then was instructed to set fire to a police car. During the night of Nov. 5, he set a police vehicle on fire on the premises of one of the police departments, but was later detained.
In Kurgan, authorities have opened a criminal case on terrorism charges against two teenagers aged 15 and 16, who set fire to a relay cabinet on a railway line in the Zaozerny district. According to investigators, they acted according to received instructions. The arson did not affect train traffic, and both teenagers were detained.
The FSB announced the detention and arrest of a 37-year-old Moscow resident charged with state treason. According to the agency, the man "voluntarily established contact with a representative of the intelligence service of a NATO country" and provided "personal information and data on several opposition-minded Russian citizens." The foreign intelligence service allegedly planned to "recruit these individuals for confidential cooperation." The man was also reportedly instructed to engage in "sabotage activities"—specifically, to photograph a facility belonging to Russia’s military-industrial complex.
The "Supreme Court of the Luhansk People’s Republic" sentenced 51-year-old paramedic Denis Zelchan to 14 years in a penal colony on espionage charges. Law enforcement officials accused Zelchan of transmitting military information to Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), which he allegedly obtained during ambulance runs in the occupied town of Kreminna. According to investigators, in December 2022 Zelchan collected information about the locations of Russian troops and relayed it to the SBU through a friend who had left the occupied territories earlier that year. Reports say Zelchan pleaded guilty.
Children and Militarization
At a forum on practices in preschool education, held with the support of the Ministry of Education, experts recommended that kindergartens across Russia adopt a new "patriotic education" program that calls for creating museums dedicated to the "special military operation." The initiative encourages children and their parents to help assemble exhibits honoring participants in the war and aims to instill “pride in the country’s defenders” and "patriotic feelings" in preschoolers.
In a school in the Novosibirsk region, educators recently held a Memorial Day for alumnus Lev Sirotkin, who took part in the war first with the Wagner Group and later under contract with the Ministry of Defense. The school omits the fact that Sirotkin had multiple criminal convictions, including for grievous bodily harm.
Longreads
The Sibir.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet has reported on how notorious murderers and serial killers have been sent to the front lines.
The Vot Tak media outlet published an investigation into what has been happening inside Russia’s military academies since the invasion began.
The Insider [independent Russian investigative media outlet] detailed how the Russian army is returning deserters to the front.