Mobilization in Russia for Oct. 30-Nov. 2, 2025 CIT Volunteer Summary
Authorities and Legislation
Russia's Ministry of Labor is proposing to make it easier for unemployed or job-seeking veterans of the war against Ukraine to access one-time government grants for opening their own business. The proposal involves amendments to the Law on State Social Assistance, which provides up to 350,000 rubles [$4,330] for starting a business and an additional 30,000 rubles [$370] for a three-month training course. Unlike other applicants, veterans would not need to meet a low-income requirement to secure the grant. To qualify, they would need to hold veteran status, be discharged from military service, be registered with the employment service, and obtain a recommendation from the Defenders of the Fatherland Fund. Service members with first or second group disabilities would also be able to extend this benefit to their spouses.
Army Recruitment
Authorities in the Samara region announced recruitment for the mobilization reserve, which will include counter-UAV units. Authorities in the Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl, Tambov, Tyumen, and Leningrad regions had previously reported similar measures. The State Duma [lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly] recently passed a bill that would allow the Ministry of Defense to use reservists for tasks during peacetime and without a formal declaration of mobilization. However, the bill has not taken effect as it awaits Vladimir Putin's signature.
In the Sverdlovsk region, employees of the local office of the Federal Penitentiary Service are urging residents with criminal records to sign contracts with the MoD. On Oct. 26, in the Beloyarsky district of the region and in the town of Zarechny, agency employees conducted door-to-door visits to individuals with convictions, during which they explained the terms of contract-based military service. In addition, several recruitment meetings were held with convicts, where they were informed that signing a contract would result in their criminal record being expunged.
In the village of Plekhanovo near the city of Tula, home to members of the Roma community, law enforcement officers conducted a raid that resulted in 35 local residents being taken to the enlistment office. Of these, 22 men were fined for evading military service, while 13 were immediately sent for a medical evaluation board.
Fall Conscription Campaign
A conscript from the city of Ufa, who had no deferrals from military service, managed to leave Russia after receiving an electronic draft notice to appear before the enlistment board. He contacted the Idite Lesom! [Flee through the woods/Get lost you all] Telegram channel, which helped him prepare an application for alternative civilian service. Later, he successfully passed passport control and flew to Armenia. According to the young man himself, the sections concerning temporary restrictions in the excerpt from the Draft Register were all blank. Earlier, reports had surfaced of both denials (1, 2) of departure and successful border crossings after receiving an electronic draft notice.
Idite Lesom! reports that roundups of conscripts continue in Moscow. Men are being detained near metro stations, inside the metro itself, near their homes, or simply on the street. They are first taken to a police department and then to the Moscow military collection point on Ugreshskaya Street. Even those with serious medical conditions, but lacking supporting documents, are being held at the military collection point. Roundups are also taking place in the city of Sochi and in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
Mobilized Soldiers, Contract Soldiers and Conscripts
Based on open sources, Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] and BBC News Russian, together with volunteers, have verified the names of 143,087 Russian fighters killed in Ukraine, including 15,684 mobilized soldiers. Over the past week, the list has grown by 2,986 soldiers, 122 of whom were mobilized. The proportion of obituaries for convicts continues to decrease, and they currently account for 13 percent of total losses. Journalists have noted that people can be deployed to the war before the court's guilty verdict, which contributes to the decline.
Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents
Aleksey Kostrikin, a serviceman who was previously charged with the murder of a resident of the town of Novaya Tavolzhanka in the Belgorod region and the rape of his wife, has now been charged with robbery. The details of the new criminal case are unknown, but it was previously reported that a day before the murder, Kostrikin attacked a woman in the town of Shebekino. On Nov. 1, it was reported that on the evening of Oct. 31, Kostrikin escaped from under guard from a draft office building in the Belgorod region. The governor of the region has ordered the territorial defense forces and the voluntary people's militia to be involved in the search for Kostrikin. The Fonar [Lantern] Belgorod media outlet published a wanted notice for the escaped serviceman. In the evening, Kostrikin was seen in an underground passageway in Belgorod. In the morning, he stole a car to escape the pursuit. Later, the car was found, and the search for the missing serviceman continues. The search has been expanded to include the neighboring Voronezh region. The Agentstvo [Agency] independent media outlet has reported that Kostrikin has three previous convictions.
The Magnitogorsk Garrison Military Court sentenced former contract soldier Viktor Ryabinin to 10 years in a high-security penal colony on a murder charge. According to prosecutors, in the early hours of June 5, 2025, while drinking alcohol, Ryabinin slashed a woman’s throat, killing her instantly. Mediazona reported that Ryabinin had previously been convicted at least eight times, and as of August 2025, a tenth case against him was already under review.
The same court sentenced contract soldiers Davyd Felde and Dmitry Ulyanov to nine and eleven years in a penal colony, respectively. Both were found guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm resulting in death, while Ulyanov was also convicted of going AWOL. He had taken leave in Chelyabinsk but failed to return to his unit by late February 2025 and was detained on March 12. In the early hours of March 17, while at a military collection point, Ulyanov and Felde assaulted a fellow soldier, who later died of his injuries.
In the town of Borzya in the Zabaykalsky region [Russia's federal subject], Yegor Dorozhkin and Andrey Gritsenko, one of whom is a Russian serviceman, were sentenced to five and six years in a penal colony on charges of unlawful imprisonment, extortion committed in a group, and attempted theft from a bank account.
In Barnaul, 41-year-old war participant and Wagner Group mercenary Roman Trubetskoy was detained on charges of inflicting grievous bodily harm with a weapon. The case stems from a machete attack on another participant in the invasion, Akhmat unit member Yevgeny Bratchikov, who had allegedly proposed meeting with Trubetskoy’s partner. Both men reportedly have prior criminal records.
In the Novosibirsk region, former war participant Danil Shargan has been sentenced to three years in a penal colony under the article on the torture of minors. Additionally, he was prohibited for two years from engaging in activities in the fields of education, upbringing, and organizing recreation for minors, as well as in children's and youth sports, and was ordered to pay 600,000 rubles [$7,420] in compensation to the victims. Investigators concluded that from November 2023 to March 2024, Shargan had systematically beaten students of a children’s sports club with wooden sticks and with his hands; Shargan himself denied this. Even after the criminal case was initiated, he continued working as a children’s coach and ran for the Novosibirsk City Council.
In the city of Yekaterinburg, Oleg Lukyanov, a resident of Chelyabinsk, has been arrested on suspicion of large-scale extortion. According to investigators, Lukyanov, along with an accomplice, forced people in difficult financial situations to sign contracts with the MoD and appropriated their payments.
A mobilized soldier has been sentenced to two and a half years in a penal settlement for three counts of going AWOL, while at the same time the court awarded him 3 million rubles [$37,100] in compensation for his injury.
In Saint Petersburg, two teenagers, aged 12 and 13, allegedly attempted to set fire to a police station and official police vehicles. The investigation is being conducted under articles related to attempted terrorist attack and the involvement of minors in illegal activities. Based on the available data, there are currently no suspects or accused persons in the case, as the minors have not reached the age of criminal responsibility. Law enforcement officers believe that the teenagers were acting under the influence of individuals suspected of criminal intent.
Volgograd authorities have detained three teenagers accused of setting fire to a cell phone tower. The investigators have opened a criminal case against the youths, alleging they conspired and committed the arson in a group. Law enforcement officials claim the teenagers acted under the direction of alleged "Ukrainian handlers." Notably, the incident was publicly disclosed only six months after it occurred.
In Krasnodar, a man was detained who allegedly planned to set fire to railway equipment on instructions from Ukraine. The Federal Security Service (FSB) stated that the man is being charged under articles concerning attempted terrorist attack, participation in the activities of a terrorist organization, discrediting the Russian Armed Forces, and public calls for activities directed against the security of the state.
A 58-year-old resident of the Nizhny Novgorod region was sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony on charges of a terrorist attack. Investigators believe that in June 2024, he set fire to two relay cabinets between the Zholnino and Dzerzhinsk stations. The name of the convicted man was not disclosed.
In the Novosibirsk region, the Investigative Committee has sent to court the case of two teenagers accused of attempting to murder a soldier. According to investigators, for a promised reward, the teenagers applied a poisonous substance to the door handles and side mirrors of the victim’s car. The toxic chemical had been provided by a "handler from Ukraine." The boys were later detained by the FSB.
In Moscow, a military court sentenced Gleb Troitsky, a 26-year-old resident of the capital, to 10 years in prison on charges of attempted treason and participation in a terrorist organization. Troitsky was arrested on May 25, 2024, at a Moscow-area airport, where he was preparing to fly to Tbilisi for a weekend trip. Investigators allege he planned to continue on to Ukraine to join the Russian Volunteer Corps, which fights on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Following his arrest, Troitsky was reportedly subjected to 40 consecutive "carousel" detentions. He has denied the charges, telling the court that while he holds antiwar views, he never intended to fight against Russia.
Miscellaneous
Across Russia, regional and municipal governments have sharply increased spending on monuments honoring participants in the war against Ukraine. No such contracts were issued in 2022, two appeared in 2023, four in 2024 and about 15 tenders have already been announced this year.
Meanwhile, property once owned by Mikhail Yurevich and Vadim Belousov, former heads of the pasta manufacturer Makfa, along with their relatives’ real estate, has been transferred to the MoD. The ministry will receive 63 apartments located in Chelyabinsk, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and several other cities, which are expected to be used to house military personnel.