Compulsory Mobilization Has Begun In Omsk
- 11.08.2026, 16:46
Men are being grabbed off the streets and forced to sign contracts.
In Omsk, men have begun to be detained on the streets and taken to a military conscription center to be sent to fight in the war against Ukraine. According to “Ostorozhno, Novosti”, relatives of 31-year-old Dmitry S. on August 8, he was sitting on a bench with a bottle of beer in his hands when several men in civilian clothes pulled up next to him, subdued him, and took him away in an unknown direction.
Later, the man reported that he was at the “Sirius 55” recruitment center, where he was pressured into signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense. “He said they had prepared documents and bank cards for him. He was forcibly made to sign the contract. His passport and military ID are at home. He is married and has an official job,” his relatives said. They contacted the prosecutor’s office, but were told to gather additional documents and come back.
A similar incident occurred in Omsk in July. At that time, police detained a local man near a bus stop: he was walking home from work and was slightly intoxicated, according to the detainee’s son. According to him, his father was punched in the ribs and taken to Precinct No. 5 on Moskovka Street, where for nearly two days they tried to coerce him into signing a contract by applying physical and psychological pressure. The man refused and was released only after his relatives reported him missing.
Detentions aimed at forcing people to go to war are also taking place in other regions. The situation is most acute in the Penza Region, where police are organizing raids with the participation of military registration and enlistment office staff. Local residents report that the raids are carried out under the pretext of identifying draft dodgers, naturalized migrants who have not registered, and those who have deserted their military units, but “in practice, they detain everyone indiscriminately, hand out draft notices, and force them to sign a contract under threat.”
Residents of Ulyanovsk are being sent to war in a similar manner. According to the “Idite Lesom” project, in June, a 52-year-old city resident was detained at the entrance to his building while intoxicated; he was restrained and taken to the military commandant’s office, where he was forcibly made to sign a contract. He soon found himself in occupied Mariupol. Another Ulyanovsk resident was forced to sign a contract despite having lost an eye.
According to the director of “Idite Lesom,” Grigory Sverdlin, 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. Among the methods used are detentions on the streets, home and workplace visits by officials, as well as the recruitment of debtors, those on probation, and recently demobilized conscripts, according to documents from regional authorities reviewed by Janis Klüge, a research fellow at the German Institute for International Security Affairs.