Mobilization in Russia for Sept. 7-8, 2023 CIT Volunteer Summary

Authorities and Legislation

The Russian government has adopted a simplified procedure for issuing death certificates and certificates of missing status to relatives of service members engaged in the war in Ukraine. The new regulation allows for the certificates to be issued not only by medical service providers but also by commanders of military units. Moreover, for each in-service death, a commander will be required to submit an in-service casualty report to the civil registration office or to the multi-functional public services center. Certificates will be issued within 30 days of submitting the request.

Army Recruitment and Military Service Advertising

The Sibir.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet discussed the probability of the second wave of mobilization in Russia with lawyers, human rights activists and a military expert. All experts agreed that mobilization is a prospect one must be alert to, and prepared for. However, its exact timing cannot be predicted with certainty.

Cuban authorities announced they had arrested 17 individuals suspected of recruiting young Cubans to serve in the Russian military amid the Ukraine conflict. The defendants face up to 30 years behind bars, life imprisonment, or the death penalty. Earlier, Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] published the story of two 19-year-old Cuban nationals, allegedly lured into Ukraine and coerced to fight for Russia. Meduza [international Russian-language online media outlet] brought together all information that is available to date on trafficking of Cuban citizens.

Mobilized Soldiers and Volunteer Fighters

The list of mobilized soldiers killed in the war has been updated to include Artyom Drozdov and Aleksandr Solovyov from the Vladimir region and Vladimir Barilo from the Tula region.

Based on open sources, Mediazona [independent Russian media outlet] and BBC News Russian, together with volunteers, managed to verify the names of 31,655 Russian fighters killed in Ukraine, including 3,534 mobilized ones. Over the last week, the list was updated to include 342 soldiers, including 66 mobilized soldiers. The journalists note that the real number of casualties is considerably higher. According to calculations by Meduza and Mediazona, as of the end of May 2023, Russian losses in Ukraine amounted to 47,000 people.

A mobilized soldier from the "DPR" has been trying to undergo a medical examination for over a year. The man with kyphoscoliosis was mobilized in February 2022 in the Donetsk region. Despite the prosecutor's order to send him for medical treatment and a military medical board examination, he remains on the frontline. The command also refuses to accept reports from the serviceman himself requesting hospitalization, which prevents his relatives from seeking legal resources.

Sentences, Legal Proceedings and Incidents

The man who threatened to detonate a grenade in the center of Rostov-on-Don on Sept. 7 has been detained. He turned out to be a serviceman, a captain from the 103rd Motorized Rifle Regiment stationed in the city. It was revealed that the grenade he threatened to detonate was a dummy, and he was in a state of alcohol intoxication.

In Bataysk, the Rostov region, the police detained a man who allegedly assaulted a Wagner Group mercenary (more details here). The man was charged with attempted murder with hooligan motives. According to the mercenary’s relatives, he sustained 12 rubber-bullet pistol shots.

A criminal case of murder threat was initiated against the veteran of the war in Ukraine who assaulted and attempted to strangle his 81-year-old mother. Criminal charges were filed only after the situation was made public by the media. The man still resides at home, forcing his elderly mother to seek refuge with acquaintances. We reported on this situation in one of our previous summaries.

The Kyakhta Garrison Military Court sentenced Private Aleksey Yurov to 12 years in a maximum security penal colony for murdering his acquaintance. During a quarrel, the soldier stabbed the victim multiple times with a kitchen knife, struck her on the head, arm and shoulder with an "unidentified object," after which he strangled her. To conceal the traces of the crime, he set the apartment on fire.

The Leninsky District Court in Mordovia [Russia’s constituent republic] arrested Airat Valiullov, head of the contract military service recruitment facility, for two months. He is suspected of accepting a bribe through extortion. According to the investigation, in May 2023, Valiullov demanded 15,000 rubles [$153] from his subordinate, promising not to deploy him to the war in return.

The Garrison Military Court in Abakan has sentenced Corporal Kezhik Khomushka to five years in prison for going AWOL. He failed to report to duty on Nov. 1, 2022, and only returned seven months later in response to a command order.

The Barnaul Garrison Military Court has sentenced Private Maksim German to six years in prison for going AWOL. He left his unit on Nov. 24, 2022, returned on Dec. 12, and went AWOL again the next day. He finally returned to his unit for good on Feb. 7, 2023.

Additional information has emerged regarding a woman arrested for attempting to set fire to the military commissariat [enlistment office] in Saint Petersburg. The arsonist has been identified as 58-year-old Elena K., an employee of the local water utility company. According to Fontanka, she was coerced into committing the crime by phone scammers posing as Federal Security Service (FSB) agents. These scammers had previously defrauded her of 6 million rubles [$62,000] that she had taken as a loan before convincing her to set fire to the military commissariat, claiming that the person who had taken her money was employed there.

A 17-year-old college student was detained in Novosibirsk on charges of railway sabotage. The court remanded him to a pre-trial detention center for a period of two months. According to the investigation, the young man broke a relay cabinet on the section between Novosibirsk-Zapadnyi and Ob railway stations on Aug. 25, and set fire to another relay cabinet at the same location the next day—this incident is confirmed. The young man has been accused of assisting sabotage activities and may receive up to 20 years in prison.

The FSB has reported about detaining a Sevastopol resident who was allegedly preparing an act of terror on the Crimean railroad. As stated by the law enforcement, the detainee was acting on the assignment of Ukraine's military intelligence with the goal to disrupt military logistics, while also gathering information on Russian military facilities.

The Zabaykalsky Regional Court has extended the arrest of a 21-year-old woman from Chita, who is accused of high treason for sharing pictures of military vehicles with a Ukrainian man she met online. Additionally, she is charged with filming mobilized soldiers at Chita airport who were going to war. The Eastern Military District headquarters concluded that this information could be used against the Russian Armed Forces. The defendant was arrested on July 10 and, according to the court, admitted her guilt. The woman faces up to 20 years in prison under the article on high treason.

The Tomsk Regional Court has sentenced a 20-year-old local resident to eight years and three months of imprisonment in a case involving the preparation and incitement of sabotage on a railway. According to law enforcement authorities, the man was tasked with setting fire to railway facilities in exchange for financial compensation promised by an unidentified individual. The man admitted guilt and actively cooperated with the investigation.

Russia's Second Western District Military Court has sentenced Maksim Popov to four and a half years of imprisonment in a case related to preparations for an act of terror committed by a group of individuals through prior conspiracy. The case was heard in a special procedure.

The Idel.Realii [part of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty] online media outlet, has endeavored to uncover all available information regarding the case of Samara artist Irina Izmaylova. On Sept. 1, she was detained, and legal representation was denied. She is suspected of manufacturing explosives, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison. Izmaylova's lawyer believes she is facing pressure, leading her to decline his services. Meanwhile, her partner, Aleksandr Kudashov, who serves in the Russian Volunteer Corps, asserts that her arrest is retribution from the Russian regime. He has expressed his intention to request Ukraine’s I Want to Live project to exchange Irina for Russian prisoners of war.

Assistance

More various cultural and mass events are accompanied by wartime activity. For instance, residents of the town of Sovetskoye in the Khanty-Mansi autonomous region [Russia’s constituent subject] sell jars of pickles at the Successful Year harvest festival, with the proceeds going toward purchasing clothing and equipment for soldiers. The administration of the Oktyabrsky District in the Saratov region engaged pensioners in making camouflage nets as part of an entertainment and health-oriented event. Meanwhile, the Maryina Roshcha District in Moscow celebrates City Day by weaving camouflage nets. In Tyumen, elderly women knit socks and camouflage nets, and in addition, they sew clothing and bedding for soldiers.

From Ryazan, two KAMAZ trucks loaded with water, building materials, a refrigerator, and various equipment were dispatched to support the mobilized soldiers of the 1044th Regiment.

The Governor of the Irkutsk region has granted a waiver for war veterans and their families, relieving them from penalties related to overdue utility bills and capital repairs.

Children

A workshop for making camouflage suits for servicemen was organized in the dormitory of the Krasnoyarsk Industrial Service College. Students have already sent 63 camouflage suits to the frontline. In addition, students make trench candles: more than 500 pieces were sent to the frontline in two months. Meanwhile, at the Sunday school of a church in Samara, a master class for schoolchildren on weaving camouflage nets was held.

Miscellaneous. Regional Elections in Russia

A local election commission for the gubernatorial elections was organized in a combat zone for military personnel and construction workers from Novosibirsk. Voting near the frontline is also arranged for military personnel from Omsk and Pskov. Soldiers from other regions, in particular from the Samara region, will also take part in the gubernatorial elections.

In Magadan, a "charity fair" was organized at a polling station. Schoolchildren sold their handicrafts and food there. The money earned will be used to purchase aid for Magadan residents participating in the war.