Mobilization in Russia for Oct. 17-18, 2023 CIT Volunteer Summary

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

The Cheboksary administration warned enterprises and organizations located within the city that the Ministry of Defense intends to audit their keeping of personnel military records.

Sources of the NGS24.RU media outlet indicate that residents of the city of Krasnoyarsk are once again receiving data check-up draft notices. Oddly, the people doing the delivery do not show any identification documents and struggle to name the exact organization they represent. Instead, they direct recipients to the district administration, which would apparently carry out the data check-up.

Mobilized Soldiers and Volunteer Fighters

The list of mobilized soldiers killed in the war has been updated to include Anton Dragun from the Orenburg region, Denis Belyayev from the Yaroslavl region, Aleksandr Mymrin from the Arkhangelsk region, Andrey Zybin from the Tver region, Yevgeny Kashin from the Vladimir region, Denis Baidin from the Novosibirsk region, Yevgeny Panin from the Rostov region, Nikolay Grudnev from the Stavropol region, Aleksandr Orekhov and Viktor Sklyarov from the Krasnodar region, Eduard Kalmuldayev from the Astrakhan region, and Seyfull Ramazanov from Russia’s constituent Republic of Dagestan.

It has also been reported about the death of 19-year-old Kirill Kholkin in the war with Ukraine. He joined the war at the age of 18 as a conscript and had to sign a contract while already on the frontline. After being wounded, Kholkin returned to Russia and had no intention of continuing to fight, but military doctors refused to recognize him as disabled. As a result, he went AWOL. The court sentenced Kholkin to five years of probation, allowing him to be sent back to the frontline. In late September, the family was informed that the young man had been killed.

The commander of a group of conscript soldiers hit by a strike near the border with Ukraine succumbed to his injuries. As a result of the incident, two conscripts had been killed and three more soldiers taken to the hospital. Relatives of the commander revealed that the soldiers had been building fortifications at two kilometers from the border when the deadly strike hit. The commander’s family blamed the death of their loved one on the brightly colored construction equipment.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

In the Arkhangelsk region, a garrison military court ordered five years of imprisonment for contract soldier Nikita B. for going AWOL. In December 2022, the serviceman, who was due to be deployed to the combat zone, abandoned his unit and fled home, only to be caught by military commandants in May of this year. The defendant fully admitted his guilt, claiming that his actions had been driven by his deteriorating health and delayed wage payments.

The Volgograd Garrison Court found four military personnel guilty of offering bribes to commanders in an attempt to avoid being sent to the war. The bribe amounts ranged from 10,000 [$100] to 150,000 rubles [$1,500]. All the accused, including both contract soldiers and mobilized soldiers, received suspended sentences and fines. The sentences against their commanders are not reported.

The Mozhem Ob'yasnit [We can explain] Telegram channel, based on statistics from the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court, has reported an eightfold increase in the number of Russians convicted of terrorism in 2023. During the first half of 2023, courts issued 39 guilty verdicts under this article. For comparison, in the same period in 2022, five people were convicted. This explosive increase is primarily linked to a wave of arson attacks on draft offices after the onset of the war and the announcement of mobilization. Investigators have increasingly classified these actions as acts of terror. The penalty under this article ranges from 10 to 20 years of imprisonment.

The mother of a 28-year-old tractor driver from the Belgorod region, Ivan Fokin, who was detained on charges of treason (more details here), told the Astra Telegram channel that her son is subjected to beatings in the pre-trial detention center. This way, security forces try to force him to sign self-incriminating statements. Fokin was initially arrested on June 27 for being in a state of intoxication in a public place, and later for illegal weapons trafficking. On Oct. 4, 2023, two more criminal cases were brought against him, related to attempted treason and involvement in a terrorist organization. According to investigators, the tractor driver allegedly intended to leave for Ukraine on foot and fight against the Russian Federation.

Assistance

The Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg passed a bill in its first reading, granting priority access to government agencies for participants in the "special military operation." The list of privileged categories is proposed to be extended to include mobilized soldiers, those who have signed contracts or joined volunteer units, as well as their family members. In the Arkhangelsk region, new "support" measures have been introduced for the participants in the war with Ukraine and their families, including the provision of land plots and free vacations for children.

In Vladimir, the "soldier shawarma" is promoted. It is claimed that a portion of the proceeds from the sales goes to support the war in Ukraine.

Children

An article in the 'Draft Offices of Russia' magazine discusses a new model of training for young Russians preparing for military service. According to the authors, it should include sports competitions, militarized tourism and parachute jumps. They suggest that retired military officers should be engaged in teaching at schools, while veterans and Cossacks should play a role in patriotic education.

Guardianship authorities in the Primorsky region are planning to transfer custody of a girl from her retired grandmother to her father, who recently returned from the war and has a criminal record for drug abuse. The man had not been in contact with his daughter for 11 years until he was asked to pay 1 million rubles [$10,000] in child support. According to lawyers, the child's rights have been violated in this situation.

Pro-military volunteers asked students from a polytechnic college in Surgut to assist in the production of potbelly stoves for participants in the war. According to the students, they are participating in this effort to acquire skills in working with steel.

Miscellaneous

Residents of Moscow have voiced their opposition to the construction of a training ground for unmanned aerial vehicles within the Kosinsky nature and historical park, an area designated as a specially protected natural territory that houses endangered species. Protesters raise concerns about the safety of conducting UAV tests in close proximity to high-rise residential buildings. On Oct. 17, the Rudnevo industrial park, located not far from residential areas, opened a plant for the production of air defense missiles. Previously, residents of Izhevsk unsuccessfully protested against the construction of UAV production plants within their city.

An exhibition titled "We Are Defending Our Homeland" has recently opened in the city of Perm, dedicated to the war with Ukraine. The first section of the exhibition explores the "reasons for the special military operation," the second delves into the Perm region's collaboration with the occupied territories and its contribution to the defense industry, while the third section highlights the "heroes of the special military operation" and pro-war volunteers.