In the Ivanovo region of Russia, unidentified people are kidnapping men and forcing them to sign a contract to participate in the war against Ukraine.

This was reported by the Russian publication Verstka.

According to the publication, the disappearances in this region began in the fall of 2024, and today their number has reached six people.

The disappeared lived in poverty, abused alcohol, were interrupted by casual earnings and had health problems.

According to local residents, both the local authorities and the relevant security agencies are involved in the abductions, which are trying to forcibly take people to war and use them in mass assaults on Ukrainian positions.

The disappearances of all six men have a similar scenario: they found part-time work, unknown people came to see them, and then they disappeared. At the same time, according to relatives, accounts were subsequently opened in the name of the disappeared men in Promsvyazbank.

In December 2024, several men disappeared in the village of Nikonikha, the Ivanovo region, and were later linked to forced conscription.

Maksim Andreyevsky, a 46-year-old man with health problems, was abducted by unidentified persons who looked like police officers while he was shoveling snow. His passport was taken by law enforcement, and his fate remains unknown.

Also, 39-year-old Oleksandr Savelyev, who did not have a permanent job, was taken away by the same people. His mother appealed to the police, but they refused to help.

Both men were considered “dysfunctional”, which was a common feature of the disappeared. Local residents and activists suspect that the administration of the Pars settlement is involved in compiling lists of such persons for abduction.

It should be noted that similar treatment of people can be traced in the Russian army both in general and on the front line, where, according to them, soldiers are kept like cattle and in terrible conditions.

In addition, soldiers who are not discharged due to the loss of limbs are sent back to the front lines on crutches.

For example, in February 2025, there was a case when Russian commanders sent two infantrymen to assault Ukrainian positions in the Pokrovsk sector – one on crutches and the other who could not walk.