In Russia rifles On 22 September, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council
Dmitry Medvedev said that newly mobilized recruits could be used to protect the
newly annexed territories in Russian-occupied Ukraine.
Roskomnadzor demanded Russian media to write about mobilization using information "exclusively" from Russian government sources and threatened disobeying outlets with fines of up to 5 million rubles and blocking. Imprisoned
Russian opposition politician
Alexei Navalny said: "I don’t understand one thing. The army has a million people, Rosgvardia has 350,000 people, the Interior Ministry has another million and a half or two million people, and the Federal Penitentiary Service is full of people. Why are they drafting civilians?" In the
Levada Center poll, conducted from 22–28 September, 47% of surveyed Russians said they had felt "anxiety, fear, and horror" following Vladimir Putin's announcement on 21 September. Another 23% said they had felt "shock", while 13% felt "anger and indignation" and 23% said they felt "pride for Russia." Bashkir activist
Fail Alsynov called the mobilization a
genocide of the
Bashkir people. There have been allegations that Russia is sending a disproportionate number of men from
ethnic minorities to fight in Ukraine. Russian Field survey of 21–29 October 2023 showed that 58% of those polled opposed the second mobilization. In May 2024, Kremlin sources told Reuters that Putin was ready to end the war in Ukraine with a
negotiated ceasefire that would recognize Russia's war gains and
freeze the war on current front lines, as Putin wanted to avoid unpopular steps such as further nationwide mobilization. According to the Russian independent website Astra, hundreds of Russian men who refused to fight in Ukraine were transported from a military facility near St. Petersburg to a war zone in the
Kursk Oblast. In April 2025, a Russian military court sentenced a mobilized man from
Sakhalin to 15 years in prison. He was mobilized in 2022 and deserted in June 2023, voluntarily surrendering to Ukrainian troops, but was later sent back to Russia in a prisoner exchange.
Markets Russian markets reacted to the introduction of mobilization with a moderate collapse. By 10:43 Moscow Time, the
MOEX Index had fallen by more than 4%, and the
RTS Index by 5%. After the opening of the exchange, the US dollar against the
ruble rose to 62.61 rubles in less than two hours (+2.01 rubles by the close of trading on 20 September).
Russian officials and their families said he does not intend to obey a call-up to fight in Ukraine because he is "Mr. Peskov".
Nikolay Peskov, the son of Putin's spokesman
Dmitry Peskov, told pranksters, who pretended to be recruitment officers, that he had no intention of going to war and would resolve the issue "on a different level". State Duma deputy
Mikhail Matveyev, who opposed the invasion of Ukraine, suggested that
Russian governors and lawmakers supporting war and mobilization should enlist in the army and go to fight in Ukraine.
Mikhail Degtyarev, the governor of the
Khabarovsk region, said he would like to go to Ukraine as a volunteer, but could not because of his duties as governor. Residents of the region started a petition proposing to remove Degtyarev from the post of governor and send him to fight in Ukraine, which was signed by several tens of thousands of people.
Margarita Simonyan, the head of state broadcaster
RT, complained why the "millions of security officers and guards" who are being used in Russia were not sent to the front. Speaking of the chaotic mobilization and reports of old, disabled or otherwise unfit men getting called up into the army,
Vladimir Solovyov, the host of the
Russian State TV show
Evening with Vladimir Solovyov, suggested that recruitment officers who call up the wrong people should either be shot or sent to the front to fight themselves. Russian opposition politician
Emilia Slabunova, a member of the Legislative Assembly of the
Republic of Karelia, wrote a letter to President Vladimir Putin urging him to officially declare the end of mobilization. She wrote that absence of such a decree "affects the psychological state of society".
Within the Russian military mobilized for military service in Ukraine On 4 October 2022, a video appeared of a man in front of a group of soldiers from
Omsk Oblast voicing concern to the military leadership, primarily about payment to support their families while they were away at war. On 16 November 2022,
Vadim Boyko, a Colonel and director of Vladivostok's Makarov Pacific Higher Naval School who was responsible for mobilization efforts committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest five times in his office. Afterwards his widow claimed he was depressed and threatened with charges for failing to meet his recruitment quotas.
Help for army conscripts Numerous human rights and public organizations expressed their readiness to help mobilized Russians. Among them are
Agora,
Committee of Soldiers' Mothers, Conscript's School, Movement of Conscious Objectors from Military Service, Call to Conscience, Citizen and Army.
Exodus of Russians Russian citizens reportedly purchased plane tickets to other countries following the mobilization. Before the televised address of Russian President Vladimir Putin, all air tickets to
Istanbul on 21 September, as well as almost all tickets to
Yerevan, were sold. On 6 October, the Kremlin denied reports that 700,000 Russians have fled the country since Putin announced the mobilization order. After the announcement of mobilization, many kilometers of traffic jams formed at Russia's borders with
Kazakhstan, Georgia,
Belarus,
Finland and
Mongolia: along the Georgian border, vehicles were lined up for at least and near Kazakhstan, cars were abandoned as motorists fled. Finland,
Poland and the
Baltic Countries announced they would not offer refuge to Russians fleeing mobilization.
Chair of the Senate of Kazakhstan Mäulen Äşimbaev announced that Kazakhstan would not issue permanent residence permits to Russian citizens evading mobilization without permission from the Russian government. More than 200,000 Russian men fled to Kazakhstan. In the first week after the announcement, Georgia took in the most refugees. Two men fled Russia by boat, landing in the small town of
Gambell, Alaska on 4 October and sought for asylum. On 27 September 2022, White House press secretary
Karine Jean-Pierre encouraged Russian men trying to escape being called up to fight in Ukraine to apply for
asylum in the United States. In early 2023, the
Biden administration resumed deportations of Russians who had fled Russia due to mobilization and political persecution. Texas-based attorney Jennifer Scarborough said that "Fleeing the draft can actually be a valid claim for asylum. If we’re against this war [in Ukraine], then why are we saying that Russia has a right to conduct this draft and deport people to fight in this draft and to fight in Ukraine? I don’t understand how you put those two policies side by side." Russians heading to
South Korea by boat in hopes of evading Putin's mobilization have been denied entry in most cases. In December 2022, Kazakhstan reportedly deported a Russian citizen, a former presidential guard, who fled mobilization; Kazakhstan denied his asylum claim in late November while human rights activists have said that the country's law on refugees allows him to stay in Kazakhstan while his lawyers appeal. Kazakhstan and
Kyrgyzstan agreed to share personal data of Russians fleeing mobilization and persecution with the Russian government. Russian independent media outlet
Mediazona reported that military courts have received thousands of
AWOL cases since Russia's 2022 mobilization. As of 2024, France was the only EU country accepting Russian
deserters without a passport and allowing them to apply for asylum.
Protests The
Vesna movement called for wide-ranging protest action. The action called "No mo
gilization
(grave-ization)" was scheduled for the evening of 21 September. As of 22:00 Moscow time on 21 September, more than 1,233 people had already been detained in 38 cities.
Moscow police intelligence received that the detained men were handed summons to the military registration and enlistment office. Peskov noted that the delivery of subpoenas to detainees did not contradict the law. In
Sokolinaya Gora, a detainee was threatened with a criminal case and 10-year prison sentence for refusing to receive a summons. The Moscow prosecutor's office warned organizing or participating in anti-war protests could lead to up to 15 years in prison. In
Grozny several dozen women tried to hold a protest rally against mobilization. All of them were detained. On 22 September, in
Babayurt,
Republic of Dagestan, the federal highway was blocked at the exit from the village. A group of villagers gathered near the local military registration and enlistment office, where there was a clash between them and a government employee. On 24 September, anti-mobilization rallies organized by Vesna took place in many Russian cities. The rallies were marked by mass detentions not only of protesters, but also of ordinary passers-by. According to
OVD-Info, more than 750 people were detained by 22:30
Moscow Time. On 25 September, the women of
Yakutsk went to a rally under the slogans "We will not give up our husbands," "No to genocide," and "No to war". People gathered in , a traditional round dance symbolizing the blessing of mothers for the safe return of their husbands and sons. The women were soon dispersed by the security forces. On the same day, residents of
Endirey,
Dagestan, took part in a rally against mobilization. The police fired live rounds into the air in an attempt to disperse the rally. On 26 September, a man
set himself on fire at the
Ryazan bus station. On 30 September, rapper
Walkie T committed suicide, saying in a video posted to Telegram that he refused to kill another man. On 5 October 2022, recently mobilized Russian soldiers protested in
Belgorod Oblast over their poor living conditions and lack of equipment. On 15 October 2022, relatives of men drafted from the
Bryansk Oblast released a video appeal to Vladimir Putin, asking him to intervene to bring their sons and husbands back home. On 31 May 2024, Russia’s
Justice Ministry added the women's organization
Put’ Domoi (The Way Home), a group of wives, mothers and sisters of soldiers who campaign for the return of mobilized men from Ukraine, to the list of so-called ‘
foreign agents’.
Attacks After the announcement of mobilization,
Alexei Navalny's legal team promised to render assistance to anyone who would try to evade conscription. According to
Ivan Zhdanov, Navalny's headquarters would support any form of protest over mobilization, including arson of military registration offices throughout the country. On 21 September, a recruiting station was set on fire in
Nizhny Novgorod. On the night of 21–22 September in
Lomonosov,
Saint Petersburg, a registration office was set on fire. In the city of
Gay, Orenburg Oblast, unknown people also tried to set fire to a military recruitment building. In
Tolyatti, an unknown person threw a Molotov cocktail at the city hall building. On 23 September, it was reported that military recruitment offices were set on fire in the cities of
Svobodny,
Khabarovsk,
Kamyshin, and the village of
Tselinnoye. On 24 September, the military office in
Kansk and the office of
United Russia in
Salavat were set on fire. On 25 September, there were attempts to set fire to registration offices in
Ruzayevka,
Chernyakhovsk,
Kirovsk, village administrations in
Bereslavka (
Volgograd Oblast) and (
Leningrad Oblast), and in
Uryupinsk and
Tarusa. On 26 September, during a meeting with recently mobilized recruits in
Ust-Ilimsk (
Irkutsk Oblast),
a man opened fire at the head of the draft board, who ended up in intensive care. According to local media, before opening fire, the attacker said: "Now we’ll all go home!".
In Ukraine Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Russians to not submit to "criminal mobilization", saying "Russian commanders do not care about the lives of Russians — they just need to replenish the empty spaces left by the dead, wounded, those who fled or the Russian soldiers that were captured." Ukrainian authorities said that Russians forcibly mobilized and sent to Ukraine could surrender. According to the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister
Iryna Vereshchuk, those who surrender will be guaranteed security. In a statement issued by the Ukrainian Presidential Office on 24 September, President Zelenskyy outlined a three-point promise to any Russian soldier who chooses to surrender: • "First, you will be treated in a civilized manner, in accordance with all conventions." • "Second, no one will know the circumstances of your surrender, no one in Russia will know that your surrender was voluntary." • "And third, if you are afraid to return to Russia and do not want an exchange, we will find a way to ensure this as well." He ended this outline saying that "Ukraine will do everything for its victory" and that "no tricks will help the occupier".
Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the
National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, called the decision on partial mobilization a "complex program for the disposal of Russians." In an interview with
Bild, Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine was waiting for such a step from Putin, summarizing: "Putin wants to drown Ukraine in blood. But also in the blood of their own soldiers." For Ukrainian society, the Russian mobilization did not enter national news, as it had been discussed since the start of the conflict. Online, the news was met with memes about the "couch troops of the Russian Federation" (people who called for a tougher war online and now have the opportunity to actually go to the front and put their ideas into practice) and compensation for the families of Russian military casualties.
International Government representatives and diplomats from European countries and the United States described Putin's decision to mobilize as a sign of Russia's failure in the war with Ukraine, a step toward escalation, and an indication of panic in the Russian leadership. Some representatives noted that their governments will continue to provide military assistance to Ukraine to protect against Russian aggression. Other Western politicians have also expressed disregard of Putin's threats of nuclear escalation. Some of the Russian detainees were identified as IT professionals who fled to Azerbaijan after Russia announced partial mobilization in 2022. • Czech Foreign Minister
Jan Lipavský stated that the
Czech Republic will not issue humanitarian visas to Russians who have fled to avoid mobilization. The Czech Republic stopped issuing visas to Russian citizens in February 2022. •
Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas announced that the country would not provide asylum to Russians fleeing mobilization. Kallas said that "Every citizen is responsible for the actions of their state, and citizens of Russia are no exception. Therefore, we do not give asylum to Russian men who flee their country. They should oppose the war." • French President
Emmanuel Macron said he had "no rational explanation" for the steps of Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, adding that it was likely "a combination of
ressentiment, the strategy of hegemony in the
region and, I would say, the consequences of
COVID-19,
isolation." •
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the mobilization "an act of desperation" that will "make everything worse", noting that he "completely underestimated" from the beginning the willingness of the Ukrainian people to resist. German Interior Minister
Nancy Faeser said that "Deserters threatened with serious repression can, as a rule, obtain international protection in Germany." However, in 2024, German authorities ordered the deportation of Russian nationals who wanted to avoid mobilization and criticized Putin's government on the grounds that they would not face
persecution in Russia. • In response to the move, the IDF issued an order to return to Israel all Israeli soldiers who are on vacation in Russia, and a blanket ban on departures from Israel to Russia for IDF soldiers. In addition, the Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning for Israelis with Russian citizenship to Russia, warning them that they could be conscripted. However, in December 2022, Kazakhstan deported back to Russia a Russian citizen who fled mobilization. Kazakhstan said it would extradite Russians wanted for evading mobilization. In January 2023, Kazakhstan announced they were tightening visa rules, a move that is expected to make it more difficult for Russians to remain in the country. •
Former President of Mongolia Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj spoke on behalf of the World Mongol Federation honouring Russian refugees bound to "start freeing [their] country from dictatorship" and welcoming
Buryats,
Tuvans, and
Kalmyks "used as nothing more than cannon fodder". According to him, different countries should accept representatives of small nationalities whom the Russian authorities send to war. In particular, Mongolia is ready to shelter refugees. • Dutch Prime Minister
Mark Rutte called Putin's actions a "sign of panic", adding that the threat of nuclear weapons did not worry him. • In an interview with
PBS News,
President of Poland Andrzej Duda called the mobilization as "an attempt to save face" by Russia. •
British Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace said that the mobilization is evidence of Russia's defeat. •
United States Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget A. Brink noted that "fake referendums and mobilization are signs of Russia's weakness and failure." Speaking at the
United Nations Security Council, Secretary of State
Antony J. Blinken castigated Putin for "choosing not to end the war, but to expand it" through the mobilization, escalatory threats, and annexation "to add fuel to the fire that he started". He reminded the council of the protest and resistance among the Russian people, quoting the anti-mobilization protesters' chant of "Let our children live." Germany offered asylum to Russian oppositionists and conscripts who did not want to go to war with Ukraine. In contrast, the
Finnish Foreign Ministry said that the country is preparing to introduce a complete ban on entry for Russian citizens on
Schengen Visas. Estonia announced that they would close entry for all Russians who participated in the war with Ukraine, and Latvia refused to issue humanitarian visas to Russians who evade mobilization, citing security concerns. == Analysis ==