Mobilization in Russia for Oct. 14-16, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary

Army Recruitment

Based on economist Janis Kluge’s analysis of regional budget data, Russia recruited nearly 100,000 people for the war in the third quarter of 2025, averaging about 33,000 new contracts per month. This figure slightly exceeds the totals from the first and second quarters, when between 90,000 and 95,000 individuals enlisted. Kluge's method extrapolates recruitment figures from expenditure data on sign-up bonuses across 37 Russian regions. He previously noted that the average cost of recruiting a contract soldier grew from 1.5 million rubles [$19,000] in January 2025 to approximately 2 million rubles [$25,400], and is projected to reach 2.5 million rubles [$31,700] by the end of the year.

In Kineshma, a town in the Ivanovo region, a group of men allegedly abducted 48-year-old Andrey U. while he was drinking with neighbors. According to his mother, several individuals approached and offered him 300,000 rubles [$3,800] for a job. He accepted and left with them. When he contacted her a month later, he said the abductors had held him in Ulyanovsk, where they forced him to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense. They also confiscated the bank card linked to the account where his sign-up bonus was deposited. Reportedly, he is now stationed in the Rostov region, at the base of the 36th Motorized Rifle Division—a formation that has not previously been reported and may in fact be a brigade or regiment. Andrey’s mother, who still has his military ID, has since filed a complaint with the Investigative Committee and the prosecutor's office. Previously, the Vyorstka media outlet reported on a pattern of abductions targeting "troubled" men in the Ivanovo region for deployment to the frontline. Recently, authorities detained Lieutenant Colonel Sergey Rassoshnykh, head of the contract military service recruitment facility for the Ivanovo region, on suspicion of embezzling regional funds allocated for the war effort.

Marat Dautov, a former official at the Neftekamsk mayor’s office, will face trial in a case involving fraudulent military service contracts. Investigators allege that while serving as head of military recruitment, Dautov falsified documents to show that six residents had enlisted upon his wife’s recommendation—allowing her to fraudulently collect 300,000 rubles [$3,800].

At least 12 Russian regions this year have announced "promotions" offering increased payments for signing a contract before a specified date, according to Vazhnyye Istorii [IStories, an independent Russian investigative media outlet]. These special conditions apply to those who sign a contract within the next 1.5 to 3 months. However, once the "promotion" period ends, authorities often fail to mention that the terms have changed. According to the outlet’s tally, a total of at least 34 Russian regions have announced increases in sign-up bonuses in 2025.

At the same time, in 2025, at least six regions reduced their regional payments without making public announcements about it. The authorities of the Samara and Ulyanovsk regions cut the payments for signing a contract severalfold—from 2.1 million rubles [$26,600] to 500,000 rubles [$6,340] in Ulyanovsk and to the minimally recommended 400,000 rubles [$5,070] in Samara. In the Nizhny Novgorod region, the size of the bonuses was reduced from 2.6 million rubles [$33,000] to 1.1 million rubles [$14,000]. Earlier, payments were also reduced in Russia’s constituent republics of Tatarstan, Chuvashia and Mari El. All these regions belong to the Volga Federal District.

A source within the Ulyanovsk regional administration said that the reasons for this decision lie both in the generally difficult situation with the budget’s expenditures and in the fact that, as practice has shown, there is currently "no direct correlation between a citizen’s willingness to sign a contract and the size of the sign-up bonus."

The government of Saint Petersburg retroactively canceled the payment of 1.6 million rubles [$20,300] for volunteer fighters. As of Aug. 1, servicemen in the BARS (Special Combat Army Reserve) volunteer formations are no longer eligible to receive sign-up bonuses upon signing a contract. Those who signed contracts directly with the MoD can still receive the payments.

A police officer from Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Sergey Baturin, who had beaten 50-year-old detainee Andrey Boldenko, was sent from pre-trial detention to the war, after which the criminal case against him for abuse of authority was suspended. At the police station where Boldenko was brought, Baturin, who was on duty, beat the handcuffed man and stepped on his head. The assault was captured on surveillance footage. The case against the officer reached court in October 2024, and the Interior Ministry issued an official apology to Boldenko.

Fall Conscription Campaign

A conscript from the Perm region [Russia’s federal subject] who received an electronic draft notice to appear before a draft board successfully flew to Yerevan, according to the Telegram channel Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods / Get lost you all]. The notice appeared in the official register, but his personal account showed no travel restrictions. He had purchased his ticket to Yerevan in advance and was able to pass passport control and board his flight. Meanwhile, the Sota media outlet reported that a man who had been removed from the military rolls in January after emigrating also received an electronic draft notice.

Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts

An 18-year-old resident of Murmansk, Maksim Nasilovsky, who had fatally stabbed his mother during an argument and was later recruited from prison, was killed in the war. He became the youngest known Russian soldier to die since the start of the invasion. Nasilovsky was born on Oct. 20, 2006, and was killed on Nov. 30, 2024, just a month after his 18th birthday.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

In the first six months of 2025, Russian Garrison Military Courts issued sentences to 6,192 servicemembers in criminal cases, according to data from the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court. This is a record high for a six-month period since at least 2011. Compared to the first half of 2024, the increase was minimal—6,088 servicemen received sentences during that period. More than half of the servicemen convicted in the first half of 2025—3,643 men—received actual prison terms. In the first half of 2024, 2,908 servicemen received actual prison terms. In 2022, garrison military courts issued sentences to 4,191 individuals; in 2023, to 7,779; and in 2024, to 13,699.

In Donetsk, authorities detained 51-year-old serviceman Valentin Ivashchenko, who purchased explicit images from an eighth-grade student from Saratov. Ivashchenko is suspected of committing lewd sexual acts against a person under the age of 14. According to reports, the schoolgirl sent images to the man over the course of a year.

The Astra Telegram channel reports that 29-year-old serviceman Aleksey Kotovsky from the Zabaykalsky region, who has a previous criminal record, raped a 22-year-old woman while threatening to stab her. The crime occurred in Zuhres in the occupied part of the Donetsk region. It is unclear whether Kotovsky has been detained.

Roman Kleshchev, a conscripted soldier, was sentenced to six years in a penal colony for two separate instances of going AWOL, each lasting over a month.

Volodymyr Parafilo, a 42-year-old Ukrainian soldier captured in Russia’s Kursk region, has been sentenced to life in prison on charges of terrorism and sexual assault. Russian investigators allege that in December 2024, Parafilo shot a civilian in the village of Russkoye Porechnoye. Later that same day, he and other servicemen reportedly tortured a 55-year-old woman with a stun gun, then raped and killed her by detonating explosives on her body. Parafilo was captured near the town of Sudzha on Dec. 29, 2024.

On Oct. 13, a 75-year-old woman in Syktyvkar set fire to a police vehicle, a UAZ Patriot. Investigators believe the elderly woman fell victim to a phone scam. The scammers allegedly first convinced her to hand over 1 million rubles [$12,700] to a courier, then forced her to torch the patrol car. Authorities have opened a criminal case against the pensioner on charges of a terrorist attack.

A woman from the Stavropol region was detained in the early hours of Oct. 16 after setting fire to a military enlistment office in the town of Zelenokumsk. According to TASS, Russia’s state-owned news agency, and the pro-government outlet Bloknot, the woman told investigators she had thrown a Molotov cocktail at the building on instructions from scammers.

Criminal charges have been brought against Sergey Gurin, a resident of the Moscow region, for an act of terror and an attempt to seize a weapon after he ran over a traffic police officer in Krasnodar on Feb. 28, 2022. Investigators say Gurin admitted during questioning that he intentionally hit the officer to take his weapon and "express his dissatisfaction" with the war against Ukraine. Surveillance footage reportedly shows Gurin’s car crossing into the oncoming lane and ramming two vehicles; a traffic officer was standing next to one of them at the time.

At Sochi airport, authorities detained a 20-year-old man from Tuapse suspected of recruiting for a terrorist organization, participating in its activities and repeatedly promoting and displaying extremist symbols. Law enforcement officers allege that in conversations with acquaintances, he urged them to travel to Ukraine to "take part in the activities of a terrorist organization." According to reports, the man "managed to recruit three Russians."

A 26-year-old resident of Belgorod has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for participating in the activities of a terrorist organization, as well as for public calls for terrorism and extremism. According to investigators, in December 2023, he joined the Freedom of Russia Legion. From April to July 2024, the man published posts in Telegram channels "containing calls for extremist and terrorist activities on the territory of Russia, as well as justification of terrorism."

The Federal Security Service (FSB) reported the detention of a female resident of occupied Donetsk, who allegedly transmitted to Ukraine information about parked cars near administrative buildings. Law enforcement officers believe that she had been recruited by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). According to FSB, the woman took components of an explosive device from one location and moved them to another. A criminal case was initiated against her for high treason.

A court in Moscow has placed 40-year-old trader Andrey Loskutov in custody in a case of financing terrorism. Law enforcement officers detained Loskutov on Oct. 9 in his apartment, and on the same day he was taken into custody. According to his mother, the reason for the criminal case could be a money transfer to Ukraine made back in 2022.

In the Bryansk region, a salesman from the town of Klintsy, Yevgeny Parkhomenko, was sentenced to 12 years in a maximum security penal colony on charges of state treason. Investigators claim that the man had reached an agreement with the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense to transfer data about Russian soldiers and had contacted a woman who had access to such data. She reported this to law enforcement authorities, after which Parkhomenko allegedly sent false data to the Ukrainian side and was subsequently detained.

A "court" in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region sentenced Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant engineer Ruslan Lavrik to 16 years in a penal colony on charges of state treason. Investigators alleged that Lavrik had transferred money to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and provided them with the coordinates of Russian troops stationed on the outskirts of Enerhodar. The 55-year-old Lavrik obtained Russian citizenship in January 2024.

A "court" appointed by the Russian occupation authorities in Crimea sentenced a local resident to seven years in a penal colony on charges of state treason. According to reports, in September 2023, he began corresponding with a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate and passed on the coordinates of Russian forces. Other details, including the man’s name, remain undisclosed.

Assistance

The authorities of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Region–Yugra [Russia's federal subject] plan to allocate over 20 million rubles [$253,700] to recruit injured and disabled veterans of the war in Ukraine into the sled hockey team. According to draft amendments to the region's budget, 8 million rubles [$101,500] have been allocated for this purpose for 2025, with an additional 12.5 million rubles [$158,500] for 2026-2027.

Miscellaneous

The private "Russian Special Forces University" in the town of Gudermes, established by Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Russia's constituent Republic of Chechnya, will receive 5 billion rubles [$63.41 million] from the Russian federal budget over the next two years, according to the budget bill. So far, the "University," which trains contract soldiers for deployment in Ukraine as well as security personnel for state companies and internal services, has been financed by a Chechen businessman with close ties to Kadyrov. Before receiving state funding, the institution had operated on a much smaller scale, with only 451 million rubles [$5.72 million] in contributions and income in 2024.

Longreads

Vazhnyye Istorii [IStories, independent Russian investigative media outlet] has published an article about 45-year-old Corporal Pavlov from the Irkutsk region, who managed to escape from the frontline twice.

The Kavkaz.Realii [Caucasus.Realities, part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] media outlet has published an article examining the participation of Cossack units in the war against Ukraine.

The Idel.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet has identified the seven conscripts from the Volga region who were killed in the Kursk region, detailing how they ended up on the frontline.