Media Reports on Covert Mobilization in Russia: 17 Regions Named
A covert mobilization is gaining momentum in Russia, under which people may be forcibly conscripted into the military. According to media reports, cases of forced detentions and pressure on citizens to sign contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense have been documented in 17 regions of the country.
In this way, the aggressor country continues to replenish the ranks of its army not only through volunteers.
Covert Mobilization in the Russian Federation
In July and August, human rights defenders documented relevant complaints from:
Udmurtia,
Primorye,
Irkutsk,
Ryazan,
Arkhangelsk,
Buryatia,
the so-called “DPR.”
The publication “Idite Lesom,” it says, received 18 similar reports over two months from:
Penza,
Amur,
Orenburg,
the Jewish Autonomous Region,
the Krasnodar and Khabarovsk Territories,
Izhevsk,
Omsk,
Blagoveshchensk,
Ulan-Ude.
In turn, the organization "Appeal to Conscience" received 18 complaints of forced conscription in July and August.
Human rights activists note that men from vulnerable social groups become “victims of mobilization”:
alcoholics,
drug addicts,
people with mental illness,
the lonely,
the elderly,
and members of the criminal underworld.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for Russian authorities to find people willing to go to war, so they are stepping up pressure on potential contract soldiers, the publication reports. Russia is “hunting down” those with debts, those under investigation, those who have lost their driver’s licenses, and so on.
This is reported by Russian propaganda media.
Recall that Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, stated that covert mobilization in Russia is intensifying and suggested that its scale could influence the Russian leadership’s decision regarding a new open draft.
Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, stated that the Kremlin currently has no plans to announce a mobilization after the fall elections. At the same time, he called for waiting until the end of the electoral process, hinting that the situation could change.
In Russia, authorities plan to impose fines for failure to comply with decisions made by regional leaders and operational headquarters regarding mobilization and meeting the army’s needs. The Russian government has submitted a corresponding bill to the State Duma for consideration.
