Deutsche Welle
· collected 2026-09-09 · by Viktorija Terentjeva, Sergey Dik, Nickolai Linke, Evgeniy Dyuk
Twice within the first week of September, Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly dismissed rumors of a looming mobilization campaign in the country.
asserted
Putin → dismiss → country
On September 1, Putin called the rumors "complete nonsense" and described them as an "information attack" against Russia.
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Putin → call → Russia
Two days later, on September 3, at the Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Putin said that "there is no scenario today that would require mobilization."
Summons are cause for unease among Russian DW users
DW's Russian service asked readers in Russia, on condition of anonymity, whether they see signs of an impending mobilization.
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they → say → mobilization
The most common response from DW readers concerned receiving summonses from military enlistments offices.
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response → concern → offices
"My nephew received a summons for data verification," wrote a reader from the industrial city of Naberezhnye Chelny.
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reader → receive → Chelny
"I received a summons ordering me to appear for data verification.
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I → receive → verification
I'm self-employed.
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I → employ → ?
What should I do?" wrote a user named Maxim.
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user → do → What
"One of my friends, a school teacher, received a summons through the government services portal [Gosuslugi] on July 9 to update his records," said another reader, Sergei.
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reader → receive → records
People fear that they may be called up for military service or lose the ability to leave the country freely.
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they → fear → country
As a result, some of those who have received draft notices are seeking to travel abroad as quickly as possible, while restrictions on leaving the country have not yet taken effect.
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restrictions → receive → effect
"One acquaintance of mine left Russia two months ago after receiving a summons for data verification from the military enlistment office," one reader wrote.
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reader → leave → office
Not everyone, however, sees emigration as a realistic option in the event of mobilization.
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everyone → see → mobilization
"As for leaving, that's a fantasy.
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that → leave → leaving
Where would you go, and more importantly, with what money?" one DW reader wrote.
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reader → go → ?
In June, reports emerged from Russia's Penza region that men were forcibly taken to military enlistment offices and pressured into signing military contracts.
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men → emerge → contracts
According to local reports, the practice became widespread enough that residents organized protests in support of relatives and neighbors.
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residents → accord → relatives
Journalists reporting on the issue say such raids are continuing.
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raids → report → issue
"People are being detained, particularly near the entrances to their apartment buildings," Lena Lemyasova, a journalist with news outlet Important Stories [Vazhnye Istorii], told DW.
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Lemyasova → detain → DW
"Often men who have been drinking.
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who → drink → ?
Unknown individuals approach them, or vehicles pull up — often cars provided by local authorities.
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vehicles → approach → authorities
The men are simply seized and taken away, then their families and neighbors hear nothing more.
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families → seize → nothing
Later, information sometimes emerges that they were transported to military units.
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they → emerge → units
They are often held there before being sent to the front."
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They → hold → front
Important Stories specializes in investigative journalism.
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Stories → specialize → journalism
Its publisher, Roman Anin, spent ten years as investigations editor at well-known independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
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publisher → spend → Gazeta
What do Russian lawyers say about the summonses?
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lawyers → say → summonses
Does receiving a military summons mean a person will be sent to war?
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person → receive → war
According to lawyer Artem Klyga, a summons issued "for data verification" does not in itself mean that someone will be drafted, mobilized or deployed.
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someone → accord → itself
Data verification notices are one of several legally established reasons for calling someone to a military enlistment office.
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notices → establish → office
"These summonses only show that military enlistment offices have significantly improved their military registration procedures.
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offices → show → procedures
If mobilization begins, such records would help authorities quickly summon the people they need," Klyga explained to DW.
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Klyga → begin → DW
Russians have also increasingly reported receiving mobilization orders issued in advance.
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Russians → report → advance
In peacetime, such orders do not oblige individuals to take any action.
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orders → oblige → action
However, if mobilization is declared, recipients are required to report to their designated military enlistment office.
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recipients → declare → office
"They were issued before the war and during the war [against Ukraine] as well.
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They → issue → Ukraine
But what changed in the first half of 2026 is that, judging by all indications, they began to be distributed in the hundreds of thousands," Russian lawyer Timofei Vaskin told DW.
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Vaskin → change → DW
"We do not know the exact figures because the information is classified.
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information → know → figures
But judging from social media reports and the number of inquiries we and our colleagues received, the increase was dramatic, by dozens of times."
At the same time, the 2022 decree on partial mobilization in Russia has never been formally revoked and technically remains in force.
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decree → judge → force
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has repeatedly described reports of a new mobilization wave as "fake stories."
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Peskov → describe → stories
…and 11 more, not listed.
