A new wave of forced recruitment into the Russian army has begun, targeting those considered easiest to intimidate and pressure, according to the partisan movement Atesh.
In a report published on Telegram, Atesh said Moscow has issued strict directives to regional authorities to increase contract soldier recruitment. Regions failing to meet quotas have reportedly intensified the work of military registration offices and security forces.
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According to the partisans, men with large debts listed in bailiff databases, as well as former prisoners under administrative supervision, have become primary targets.
Atesh claims such individuals are being detained en masse and pressured into signing contracts with the Russian Armed Forces. According to the group, authorities use threats of new criminal cases and other forms of coercion to force compliance.
The movement links this intensified campaign to heavy Russian losses on the battlefield and growing personnel shortages.
According to Atesh, the current pace of contract recruitment is no longer enough to offset losses sustained by Russian forces.
“If they try to drag you into the army in this way – do not sign anything under threats and leave the country at the first opportunity,” the group said.
Prior mobilization efforts
These claims align with earlier reporting by Russian media on forced mobilization in the Penza region.
More than three weeks earlier, Penza outlet Novaya Alternativa reported the kidnapping of Sursk resident Vladimir Podkovyrkin, the torture of Penza resident Stanislav Vyaltsyn, and other cases involving locals allegedly forced to fight in the war against Ukraine.
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Astra reported that early on Wednesday, June 17, local residents recorded an incident in which women attempted to stop officials from taking men away in a minibus near a military registration office in Kamyanka, Penza region.
According to locals, military enlistment officers drive around at night in black minibuses, waiting near liquor stores to “pick up drunks who are easy to force to sign something.”
On Thursday, Russia’s National Guard announced a raid to identify military registration violators. Police stopped vehicles and checked 80 people, serving summonses to nine.
Following this, on Friday, Russia’s Interior Ministry Department in Penza described the raids as “planned measures.” A day later, in Kuznetsk, Penza region, a disabled Russian veteran of the so-called “special military operation” (SVO) reportedly threatened military police officers with a knife while shouting at them.
“Get the f**k out of here, you f**kers. Mothers don’t have any children left, you bastards! What are you going to tell mothers then?” he shouted in a wheelchair as he chased a military inspector with a knife, while the inspector filmed the encounter.
Continued denial
On Sunday, Penza regional military commissar Andrey Surkov confirmed that street raids were being conducted to locate men liable for military service. However, Surkov denied the raids were intended to force contract enlistment.
“What are these raids for? First, to search for citizens evading the draft and military registration,” he said.
According to Surkov, such operations are routine and conducted annually.
“I ask our population not to believe these fakes and to remain calm. We have been recruiting contract soldiers for five years now,” he added.
Surkov insisted contract enlistment remains voluntary and requires medical screening and formal procedures.
“This is done only with the consent of citizens,” he said.
Meanwhile, the regional Interior Ministry warned residents against recording and sharing information about the raids.
“Over the past few days, ‘false information’ has been circulating online about alleged mass detentions of men by police officers for sending them to the so-called ‘SVO zone,’” the statement said.
Police emphasized that their officers are acting in accordance with the law and carrying out routine duties, “stopping crimes and offenses in the Penza region.”
They also warned that “the escalation of this situation leads to rampant crime and impunity,” adding that individuals who spread false information will be held accountable under Russian law.
Residential perseverance
Residents of Penza have since created a Telegram channel tracking the raids.
“Here we collect and publish up-to-date information about people offering contracts for military service,” the channel description reads, according to Astra.
One recent video shows women confronting uniformed men near a Gazelle van.
“On what grounds did you take a young guy off the bus?” one woman asks.
“They committed a theft at a construction site,” the van driver replies before driving away.
In late May, analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) argued that even forced mobilization would not significantly improve Russia’s battlefield position.
According to ISW, the Russian military faces deep personnel shortages and training problems. Despite efforts to recruit new categories of the population, including students and women, contract recruitment continues to decline.
Analysts believe manpower shortages are becoming one of the Kremlin’s most serious obstacles in sustaining the war against Ukraine.
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