July 28, 2026

In brief: Residents of the Penza region settlement formed a 250-person civilian patrol to shield their men after recruiters allegedly beat and coerced locals into signing military contracts. The forced recruitment comes as Russia braces for expanded mobilization amid mounting battlefield losses, with Vladimir Putin pledging military spending will remain the Kremlin’s top budget priority through 2029.

Residents of Bashmakovo, a small settlement in Russia’s Penza region roughly 169 kilometers (about 105 miles) west of the regional capital, have formed a 250-person civilian patrol aimed at protecting local men from forced military recruitment.

Cases of coercive recruitment have resurfaced, independent Russian outlet 7×7 reported on Tuesday, July 28, citing Bashmakovo blogger Stanislav Morozov and local sources from the Bashmakovo district.

According to them, residents in Bashmakovo organized what they called a “people’s patrol” after recruitment teams began seizing men from the streets, forcing them into signing contracts with Russia’s Defense Ministry.

Morozov published two videos that appear to show residents intervening to free men from recruiters, while other sources confirmed to 7×7 that similar incidents of forced recruitment have been occurring in the district since at least spring 2026.

Beatings and a fatal case reported

Locals claimed that, when recruiters occasionally detain minors by mistake, they simply beat them and leave them in the forest.

Another local said that her relative, Viktor Balashov, was taken to the military enlistment office serving Penza’s Oktyabrsky and Zheleznodorozhny districts roughly six weeks earlier, where he was beaten and forced to sign a contract, 7×7 reported.

According to 7×7, a local animal welfare activist described a separate case involving Sergei Milkin, a resident of the village of Podgornoye. She said local administration employees removed Milkin from his home on March 3, while he was intoxicated, and sent him to the front despite his heart condition. According to a post from his wife, Elena Pavlova, he was killed just 3 weeks later, on March 27.

Kyiv Post has not independently verified these claims.

Patrol members reportedly threatened by police

According to Balashov’s relative, roughly 250 Bashmakovo residents joined the patrol, collecting money, spreading warnings and even organizing shifts in the settlement and neighboring villages to intervene when men were detained.

Reportedly, the head of the Bashmakovo district, Tamara Pavlutkina, is believed to be overseeing efforts to meet local recruitment quotas.

Several patrol members were reportedly summoned to a police station on Monday, July 27.

The district administration told 7×7 that “everything is calm in the district,” claiming that it was the first time authorities had heard of either the patrol or the police summonses.

According to The Moscow Times, reports of intensified targeting of the men for forced frontline deployment in the Penza region first surfaced in June.

Separately, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) opened a criminal case against Morozov in early July over “calls to extremism,” after he urged Penza residents to resist forced military enlistment.

Military spending to remain Russia’s top priority

The forced recruitment tactics come as Russia appears to be preparing for expanded mobilization, with the Kremlin facing mounting personnel losses on the battlefield and rising pressure to sustain troop numbers.

According to United24Media, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree increasing the authorized strength of Russia’s armed forces by 25,000 active personnel to establish dedicated military construction units.

Putin has also urged Russian society to be “imbued” with the importance of the war, framing public commitment to the conflict as a national priority, United24Media reported, citing remarks he made during a Navy Day event in St. Petersburg on Sunday, July 26.

Under the 2026 budget law, Russia initially allocated 12.9 trillion rubles (around $165 billion) to national defense, though actual spending is expected to exceed that by another 4 trillion to 5 trillion rubles (around $51 billion to $64 billion), United24Media reported.

Citing Russian Finance Ministry data, analyst Janis Kluge estimated Russia’s war spending in the first quarter alone reached 5.9 trillion rubles ($62 billion), pushing cumulative spending since 2022 to roughly 53 trillion rubles ($746 billion), a sum United24Media said is equivalent to 28 years of Russia’s current healthcare budget.

As of Monday, July 27, Russia is said to be preparing to receive an additional 30,000 troops from North Korea.

Meanwhile, Russian citizens are rushing to rent apartments in Armenia amid mobilization fears, forcing Yerevan’s rental prices to rise up about 30% over the past three months.

Russia’s pattern of persecution extends beyond its borders, as the Kremlin continues to violate international humanitarian law by striking Ukrainian residential neighborhoods and civilian infrastructure, actions that international monitors have repeatedly characterized as war crimes under the Geneva Conventions.

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/81265