Russian draft office admits regular raids as war losses mount in Ukraine

Surkov said the raids are conducted once a month with police.

“The purpose of these raids is to search for citizens who are evading conscription or military registration, as well as those who have left their military unit without authorization. These raids are conducted regularly; we carry them out jointly with police once a month on set dates,” Surkov said.

After the mass raids began, local residents created a Telegram channel with updates about raids in the regional capital, Penza, and the city of Serdobsk.

Local police later issued a “warning” to people filming law enforcement officers at work. Police said such videos were “in no way connected with sending people to the so-called special military operation zone” and said officers were acting in accordance with the law.

Mass raids on men began on June 18 in Penza and Serdobsk. Law enforcement officers stopped cars and public transport, forcing detainees to sign contracts with the Defense Ministry to fight in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

In early June, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who was visiting Kyiv at the time, said Russia, the aggressor state, was suffering growing losses and publicly addressed young Russians.

“Young men like you are going to fight without proper military training. The equipment you will be given will be poor quality. There is a very high chance that you will be killed or wounded in Ukraine,” Rutte warned.

On June 1, a post appeared on the Telegram channel of Russian State Duma lawmaker Andrei Gurulyov saying the Kremlin was preparing a new mobilization in the fall because Russian forces had reached a dead end at the front. Gurulyov soon said his Telegram channel had been “stolen” and that “enemies are spreading texts from it.” The June 1 post has still not been deleted.