‘Taken Off the Street’: Russia’s Forced Mobilization Spreads to Siberia

Omsk, one of Siberia’s three cities with more than 1 million residents, has emerged as a new hotspot for alleged forced mobilization, with residents accusing military recruiters of snatching men from the streets and forcing them to sign contracts to fight in Ukraine. Residents have flooded the Sirius-55 military recruitment center’s page on 2GIS, a popular Russian mapping and business-directory app that allows users to post public reviews, with complaints, according to the Omsk Civic Association.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “My father went out to the store and disappeared,” one user wrote. She said her 60-year-old father was quickly issued a second passport and taken to Yugra the following day. “There has been no word from him since.” Another woman said her brother had traveled to Omsk with a work crew to earn money but disappeared. The recruitment center later called to tell her he had signed a military contract. “They took him without documents or a phone,” she wrote. Other reviewers alleged that recruiters ignored men’s age, medical conditions and lack of identification documents. One woman, Natalia, accused staff of abducting men, beating them and holding them illegally until they agreed to sign contracts. Another user said two acquaintances had been taken from the street and denied contact with their families. Among those allegedly seized were sick men, people recovering from strokes and individuals who had simply stepped out to buy groceries. Other Topics of Interest US Proposed Demilitarized Zones in Donbas, Zelensky Says US proposals included buffer zones, territorial swaps, and a solution for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Zelensky said. Two accounts described elderly men seized in the evening. In one case, relatives reportedly found a man beaten at the recruitment center and took him home. The allegations could not be independently verified. Forced recruitment spreads across Russia Reports of forced military recruitment have surged in September and October, both in number and geographical reach, lawyers told the independent Russian outlet Verstka. Complaints have emerged from 33 Russian regions and occupied Crimea, Verstka reported, citing several human rights projects. Police, members of Russia’s National Guard (Rosgvardiya) and military enlistment office staff are typically involved in the raids, according to the report. Men are stopped on the streets, often under the pretext of minor offenses, and taken to enlistment offices or military units, where they are allegedly pressured through deception, coercion or threats to sign contracts. Some people who report to enlistment offices voluntarily after receiving summonses through the government services portal Gosuslugi have also allegedly been caught up in the practice. During the spring and summer, such tactics were reported in several regions, particularly Penza Oblast. The alleged raids have since spread from the Republic of Karelia in northwestern Russia to Primorsky Krai in the Far East. Moscow has also seen similar cases. In late October, men were reportedly targeted in street raids for both compulsory military service and contract recruitment, The Moscow Times reported on Oct. 27. Russia’s recruitment drive faces growing pressure The alleged raids in Omsk come amid a broader campaign to replenish Russian forces fighting in Ukraine, with independent Russian media reporting coercive recruitment, expanded eligibility for military service and efforts to attract recruits from poorer regions. In November 2025, the independent Russian news agency Important Stories (IS) reported that Russian recruiters were advertising military service to men with HIV, hepatitis and tuberculosis in some regions, citing the independent outlets Important Stories and Liudi Baikala. One recruiter reportedly told a journalist posing as a potential recruit that men with chronic illnesses faced a high likelihood of assignment to assault units. Financial incentives have also come under pressure. According to IS, the enlistment bonuses have declined in several Russian regions, while Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, HUR, reported in October 2025 that recruitment offices in the Far Eastern Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) were falling short of Kremlin targets by around 40%. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.