The security forces in the Russian city of Penza have implemented a new approach to recruiting military personnel, and according to human rights activists, men from socially vulnerable groups were forced to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense to participate in the so-called "SVO" - the name used by the Russian authorities for the war in Ukraine.
According to the BBC Russian Service, police raids were recently carried out in Penza and other towns in the region against men who were subsequently forced to join the army.
After numerous posts on social media, the local police said that this was a "planned raid", aimed not at random citizens, but at migrants who had been granted Russian citizenship and had not fulfilled their obligation to register for military service.
According to the "Gibaj si" project, which supports conscripts and servicemen wishing to leave the army and has been declared a "foreign agent" in Russia, security forces have expanded the scope of such operations.
"We decided to combine the actions previously used against conscripts with the recruitment of socially vulnerable groups: the unemployed with a criminal record, etc.", the project representative Ivan Chuvilyaev told the BBC. "Now the actions are aimed at the unemployed, those who do not pay child support, and those with a criminal record."
Amid reports of a serious shortage of servicemen at the front, the Russian authorities are resorting to various methods to increase the number of signed contracts. According to the BBC's analysis, the resource of prisoners and volunteers attracted by the high salaries is gradually being depleted.
According to the publication, the Kremlin is unlikely to undertake a new wave of mobilization before the autumn elections for the State Duma, which is why similar police actions are expected to become more frequent in other regions of the country.