Russian Federation - Information related to military service and mobilization

42 documents have been added in the last two weeks.
30,321 documents in total. Show all.

Information on military service, conscription, and mobilization

The following publications by EUAA, the Danish Immigration Service and the Swedish Migration Agency provide background information:

For earlier developments, see our previous information collection on the partial military mobilization (last update in March 2023).

The most recent documents on the issue

These are the most recent documents from a search for terms related to the topics: (You can find more, and customise your search under this search link.)

Considered synonyms: combat, combat service, combat services, deserters, deserteur, deserteure, desertions, draft, drafts, einberufung, einberufung, einberufungen, einberufungen, fahnenflucht, heeresdienst, heeresdienst, heeresdienste, heeresdienste, kriegsdienst, kriegsdienst, kriegsdienste, kriegsdienste, military draft, military drafts, military service, military services, militärdienst, militärdienst, militärdienste, militärdienste, präsenzdiener, präsenzdiener, präsenzdienerin, präsenzdienerin, präsenzdienerinnen, präsenzdiener·in, präsenzdiener·in, präsenzdiener·innen, präsenzdienst, präsenzdienst, präsenzdienste, präsenzdienste, rekrut, rekruten, rekruten, rekrutin, rekrutin, rekrutinnen, rekrut·in, rekrut·in, rekrut·innen, services, waffendienst, waffendienst, waffendienste, waffendienste, wehrdienst, wehrdienst, wehrpflicht, wehrpflicht, wehrpflichtige, wehrpflichtige, wehrpflichtiger, wehrpflichtiger, wehrpflichtige·r, wehrpflichtige·r

  • 20 July 2025 | BBC News (Author)

    Russian Federation, Ukraine

    Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine: Article on indoctrination campaigns carried out by Russian occupation authorities targeting Ukrainian children

    Parades, flags and songs: The campaign to force Ukrainian children to love Russia (Media Report, English)

    • "We're providing children with some basic skills which they'll find useful should they decide to join military service," says Fidail Bikbulatov, who runs Yunarmia's section in occupied areas of the Zaporizhzhia region in south-east Ukraine. Bikbulatov was deployed from Russia's Bashkortostan, where he headed the "Youth Guard" division of the ruling United Russia party.
    enID 2127723

  • 19 July 2025 | BBC News (Author)

    Russian Federation, Ukraine

    Article on indoctrination of children by the Russian government in occupied areas of Ukraine

    Parades, flags and songs: The campaign to force Ukrainian children to love Russia (Media Report, English)

    • "We're providing children with some basic skills which they'll find useful should they decide to join military service," says Fidail Bikbulatov, who runs Yunarmia's section in occupied areas of the Zaporizhzhia region in south-east Ukraine. Bikbulatov was deployed from Russia's Bashkortostan, where he headed the "Youth Guard" division of the ruling United Russia party.
    enID 2127655

  • 17 July 2025 | RFE/RL – Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (Author)

    Russian Federation

    Article on methods used by the Russian army to recruit soldiers

    Russia Seeks ‘Expendable Manpower’ For Ukraine War With New Recruiting Network (Media Report, English)

    • Article on methods used by the Russian army to recruit soldiers
    • * By Daniil Belovodyev [] and * Systema [] When Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered what he called a “partial mobilization” of fighting-age men to fuel the war in Ukraine in September 2022, seven months into the full-scale invasion, the effect was visible on the streets and on the country’s borders. […] array of methods to keep the flow of soldiers to the war going, fromrecruiting in jails [https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-recruited-convicts-fierce-assault-units-storm-gladiator-/32806371.html] , prisons, andhomeless shelters [https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-war-homeless-recruiting-casualties/33096675.html] to finding ways to sendconscripts into combat [https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-conscripts-war-combat […] Unlike with Redut, however, a Dobrokor recruit cannot quit before their contracts is up without risking consequences, including potential criminal charges for desertion. “You can’t run away -- not without trouble,” Irina, a recruiter with the Union of Donbass Volunteers, told Systema. […] As of May, military prosecutors had sent to Russian courts more than 20,000 desertion cases [https://zona.media/news/2025/06/26/20k500] dating back to the start of the full-scale invasion, the Russian-language outlet Mediazona reported. […] Some recruiting organizations, such as the Union of Donbass Volunteers, bring in recruits through all three systems. Still, far fewer Russians join by signing a traditional Defense Ministry contract.
    enID 2127555

  • 2 July 2025 | Jamestown Foundation (Author)

    Russian Federation

    Article on the establishment of a Cossack mobilization reserve 

    Kremlin Formalizing Cossack Mobilization Reserve; Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 22 (Special or Analytical Report, English)

    • Kremlin Formalizing Cossack Mobilization Reserve; Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 22
    • Article on the establishment of a Cossack mobilization reserve 
    • Regardless of whether Cossacks will serve in BARS-39, the move to institutionalize the Cossack mobilization reserve is an indication that the government will continue to encourage Kremlin-controlled Cossack militarism. […] Former conscripts and those with military experience, however, are called up and obligated to service before the rest of the reserve (Nova.news [https://www.agenzianova.com/en/news/shoigu-saranno-richiamati-300-mila-riservisti-poco-piu-dell1-per-cento-della-mobilitazione-totale/] , September 21, 2022). […] There are currently no plans to increase the size of the mobilization reserve, which estimates put at two million people (Parlamentskaia Gazeta [https://www.pnp.ru/social/uvelichivat-kolichestvo-rezervistov-v-rossii-poka-ne-planiruyut.html] , January 11, 2023). […] This proportion could be increased if those who join the mobilization reserve also become “registered Cossacks,” but it seems that Russia’s need for manpower on the battlefield would still far outstrip the size of the Cossack movement. […] Members of the Cossack mobilization reserve would certainly meet the requirements of handling modern weaponry and undergoing regular exercises with the army and other military institutions.
    enID 2127316

  • 1 July 2025 | Jamestown Foundation (Author)

    Russian Federation

    Article on increasing parallels between Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) and its Soviet predecessor Committee for State Security (KGB)

    Russia's FSB Increasingly Playing Ever More Roles Similar to Soviet Union's KGB; Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 22 (Special or Analytical Report, English)

    • Eighth, since the start of the war against Ukraine, the FSB has taken the lead in pursuing deserters and monitoring the military, which the Kremlin has long feared might be used against it (Mediazona [https://zona.media/article/2024/02/29/desertion-day]; Govorit Nemoskva [https://nemoskva.net/2024/02/29/dezertir-eto-zvuchit-gordo/], February 29, 2024; Sakharov Review [https://sakharov.world/soldatov-borogan-chego-boyatsya-russkie-speczsluzhby
    enID 2127314
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