Russia Expands Practice of Rounding Up Men on Streets to Send Them to War

Russia has expanded its practice of rounding up men on the streets to send them to war against Ukraine. Reports of abductions, beatings, and coercion to sign contracts with the army are coming in from various regions of the aggressor country.

This is reported by The Moscow Times, citing testimonies from local residents and information from human rights activists.

For example, in Omsk, relatives of those detained are filing numerous complaints against the Sirius-55 military recruitment center. According to them, men are being taken right off the streets, subjected to physical violence, and forced to sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry.

One local woman said her 60-year-old father disappeared after going to the store. He was allegedly issued a new passport quickly and taken to the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug the very next day. The family has had no contact with him since then.

Another woman reported that her brother, who had come to the city to find work, stopped responding to her messages. Later, staff from the recruitment center called his relatives and stated that he had signed documents to enlist in the military. According to her, however, he was taken away without his phone or any documents.

The complaints indicate that elderly people and those with serious illnesses are also being subjected to coercion. Those detained are restricted from communicating with their loved ones, and efforts are made to complete the enlistment process as quickly as possible. In one case, the family managed to find their beaten husband and bring him home.

According to the publication Verstka, complaints of forced recruitment of men have already been received from 33 regions of the Russian Federation and occupied Crimea. Human rights activists note an increase in the number of such cases and their geographical spread in September–October 2026.

Typically, the police, the National Guard of Russia, and military registration and enlistment office staff are involved in such operations. Administrative offenses may serve as a pretext for detention, after which people are coerced into signing contracts through threats, deception, or psychological pressure.

Militarnyi reported on similar cases in the Penza region in June. At that time, mass roundups were conducted simultaneously in three cities—Penza, Kamensk, and Kuznetsk. Security forces stopped public transportation, searched vehicles, and transported those detained to military registration and enlistment offices.

In August, a similar practice was documented directly in Omsk. At that time, a 31-year-old man was detained for drinking beer on the street and taken to Sirius-55, where, according to his relatives, he agreed to military service under psychological pressure.

The spread of coercive methods comes amid difficulties in recruiting volunteers for the Russian army. Earlier, it was reported that in the first quarter of 2026, the number of new contract soldiers in Moscow and the regions fell by an average of one-third compared to the same period last year.