Russia intensifies forced recruitment and mobilisation fears amid reports of coercive tactics

Reports from across Russia say security forces are detaining men off the street and pressuring them to sign military contracts, as concern grows over a possible new mobilisation wave linked to the war in Ukraine. The accounts describe a pattern of coercion that has become more visible since mid-2025 and appears to have intensified in August. One of the places repeatedly mentioned is Penza, where footage shared on social media has shown plainclothes men trying to force fighting-age men into vehicles.

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The reports say the detentions have taken place in several settings, including on the street, at workplaces, on the way home and inside police stations or enlistment offices. In some cases, men were allegedly summoned under bureaucratic pretexts and then threatened or beaten into signing contracts. One account described officers allegedly planting illicit drugs on a person to force compliance, while another said men were approached after being stopped for document checks or for drinking in public.

Local authorities in the affected areas have denied the allegations and said they are only dealing with men who are already mobilised or trying to avoid the draft. The human rights project Idite lesom said it received 14 appeals in mid-August from people who said they had been detained and forced or pressured into signing military contracts. The group said the peak began on 10 August, after what it described as only isolated round-ups in July.

It also said there had been seven cases of conscript soldiers being pressured to sign contracts with the Defence Ministry in the same period. Separately, it said prison authorities were being used as a recruitment channel, with representatives of the Federal Penitentiary Service searching for potential contract soldiers in remand centres and colonies. The reports matter because they point to a broader effort to sustain Russia's war in Ukraine without openly announcing a new nationwide mobilisation.

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That issue remains politically sensitive after the partial mobilisation declared in 2022, which triggered public anxiety and prompted some men to leave the country. The current allegations suggest the authorities may be relying on more coercive and less formal methods to increase manpower while avoiding the political costs of a larger public call-up. The pressure is also being described as geographically wide-ranging.

Reported cases span from Novorossiysk to Birobidzhan, while Penza region cases have been recorded since mid-June. The accounts suggest that the recruitment drive is not limited to one city or one institution, but involves security forces, enlistment offices, prison authorities and civilian recruiters. Those civilian recruiters are said to be targeting people in financial difficulty, including debtors and the unemployed, through job advertisements, agencies and personal contacts.

The broader backdrop is Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its fourth year, and repeated warnings from Ukrainian officials that Moscow may be preparing another mobilisation after the State Duma elections in September. The reports also come as Russian forces are said to be preparing for a winter offensive in Ukraine. In that context, any increase in recruitment pressure is likely to be watched closely for signs of how the Kremlin intends to sustain operations on the front line.

The accounts also show the continuing role of informal networks and fear in recruitment. One man quoted in the reports said he had become reluctant to go outside unless necessary and carried pepper spray because of the risk of aggression. Another said a friend had once been stopped at night by men identifying themselves as civilians who demanded identification and tried to make him accompany them.

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The human rights project said more than 80,000 people have sought advice from it since the start of the full-scale invasion, underlining the scale of concern among those trying to avoid military service. What remains unclear is how widespread the coercive tactics are, how many men have actually been signed up under pressure, and whether the reported pattern reflects a coordinated national policy or a series of local practices. The local authorities deny wrongdoing, and the reports have not been independently verified in every case.

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