LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM A CHILDLESS CAT LADY BEAVERING AWAY IN ONE OF THE SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK:

Russian military abuses, new mobilization

Sunday 5 July 2026

Ukraine and Russia

Articles:

Langford, Antonia (6/25/26) Putin risks public fury with army call-up. The Telegraph

· State Duma elections occur in Russia in September, and Putin is said to be waiting while considering a new wave of mobilization. The media will be tasked with selling the new mobilization to the public.

· This won’t be an easy task. There are record high fatalities at the front, 30,000 per month, and new recruits are down by a third.

· The mobilization call-up in 2022 is referred to as “disastrous” by some in the media. It trigged the exodus of some 700,000 Russians from the country along with their expertise and their money.

· Ukrainian military officials believe that the Kremlin is looking to recruit 18,500 foreigners in the near future.

· Viral videos from the city of Penza show Russian draft officers seizing people and hauling them into enlistment offices.

· Russian troops also told Russian news outlets that the quality of the incoming recruits had declined. “Some are pulled out of prison, others off the street…criminals, as well, often already of such an age and with such poor health that they can barely stand…People who were literally lying on the streets until recently.” “They’re disposable.”

· Another Russian told a media outlet: “We’re short of everything: manpower, shells, drones. We’re eating livestock feed.”

· A third military source said that around half of new recruits deserted and that new soldiers don’t last unless they have connections. This leads to widespread corruption.

Article: Farmer, Ben (1/26/26) Putin targets migrant smuggling networks to boost his ranks. The Telegraph.

· “Headhunters dupe men from 126 countries into fighting in Ukraine, where many die within 72 hours.”

· Some from Africa where migration is big business are told that they will be working well away from the front lines.

· One video showed a black mercenary with a bomb strapped to his chest being forced to act as a human bomb. Another video showed black African mercenaries being mocked as “disposables.”

· “Kremlin information warfare in developing countries has exploded since the invasion of Ukraine, as Russia brands itself as an anti-colonial partner to sway political elites and their populations.”

· African influencers are invited to Russia where they talk to their subscribers of the opportunities for Africans in Russia, and show off luxuries. (Note: Remember Tucker Carlson in the Russian grocery store?)

· Not all of the recruitment is for men. Some of it in Africa has been for women to work, for example, in a drone factory in Tartarstan.

· Ukrainians tell of foreign recruits being captured and forced to sign paperwork they cannot read and having their passports confiscated. Some of the foreign recruits talk of borrowing money to fly to Russia based on promises.

Article: Quenelle, Benjamin (6/28/26) “Their mouths, eyes, hands, were taped…” Le Monde

· Due to a security flaw, a Russian exile media outlet gained access to nearly 7,000 letters from Russian soldiers and their families to the Kremlin.

· Because of complaints from service men and their families, the Kremlin set up a computerized hot line for communication. Echo, an independent Russian media outlet in exile, was able to access the data base.

· The letters, according to the researchers, barely mention Ukraine. They complain about their own military commanders. They “denounce the self-inflicted violence of the Russian army.”

· Some of the men pay extortion so that they will not have to go back over the “line” the occupied territories where law doesn’t exist.

· Complaints: sending untrained recruits to the front; failing to evacuate or search for soldiers who do not return; covering up losses by recording those who are dead as “missing.” This allows the government to freeze the financial payments promised to their families.

· Some soldiers who are captured and then returned to Russia in an exchange are accused of surrendering or having “betraying the motherland.”

· Some soldiers are treated to “annulment” that is being killed for showing cowardice.

· This has led to a “necro-economy”. Commanders know that recruits have received large sums of money for enlisting. Officers can refuse to hand over bonuses, or demand bribes. Sometimes are requires to hand over bank cards and pin codes before going to the front lines.

Additional Articles:

Vincent, Faustine (5/18/26) Captured, imprisoned and tortured… Le Monde

Aubenas, Florence (1/9/24) The painful return of Ukrainian prisoners… Le Monde