Russia’s War Draft Turns Into Street Raids—One Town Tries to Fight Back

Residents of a Russian town have reportedly formed a 250-person civilian patrol to protect local men from recruiters accused of detaining them in the streets, beating them, and forcing them to sign military contracts for Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Cases of coercive recruitment have reappeared in Russia’s Penza region, The Moscow Times reported on July 28, citing residents and independent regional media.

In Bashmakovo, a settlement roughly 80 miles from Penza, residents organized what they described as a people’s patrol after reports that recruitment teams were seizing men in public and pressuring them into contracts with Russia’s Defense Ministry.

Penza blogger Stanislav Morozov published two videos that appear to show residents intervening to free men from recruiters.

Two women from the Bashmakovo district stataed that forced recruitment had been taking place since at least spring 2026.

One resident alleged that recruiters had occasionally detained minors by mistake. When that happened, she said, they were “simply beaten and left in the forest.”

Another woman said her relative, Viktor Balashov, was sent to war about six weeks earlier after being taken to a military enlistment office serving Penza’s Oktyabrsky and Zheleznodorozhny districts.

According to her account, Balashov was beaten and forced to sign a military contract.

A local animal welfare activist described another case involving Sergei Milkin, a resident of the village of Podgornoye. She said local administration employees removed him from his home on March 3 while he was intoxicated and sent him to the military despite his heart condition.

Milkin was killed on March 27, less than four weeks later. A post by his wife, Elena Pavlova, announcing his death remained available in a local online community, The Moscow Times wrote.

Balashov’s relative said approximately 250 Bashmakovo residents had joined the local patrol.

Participants reportedly collected money, circulated warnings, and organized shifts in Bashmakovo and neighboring villages to watch for recruitment teams and intervene when men were detained.

She alleged that Tamara Pavlutkina, head of the Bashmakovo district, was overseeing efforts to meet local military recruitment targets.

According to the Moscow Times, on July 27, several patrol members were reportedly summoned to a police station and warned that authorities would “lock everyone up” if the group continued its activities.

The district administration denied knowledge of the patrol.

An employee said that “everything is calm in the district” and claimed it was the first time officials had heard either of the civilian group or the police summonses.

Earlier, Russian leader Vladimir Putin signed a decree increasing the authorized strength of the Russian Armed Forces by 25,000 active military personnel to establish dedicated military construction units.

In addition, Putin called for Russian society to be “imbued” with the importance of the war against Ukraine, presenting public commitment to the war as a national priority.

He made the remarks on July 26 during a meeting with Navy servicemen at the Admiralty in St. Petersburg, marking Russia’s Navy Day.

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