There are rumors of a new wave of mobilization after the elections in Russia at the end of September. The authorities deny it. But DW readers are talking about conscription, military exercises and increased recruitment of soldiers for the war against Ukraine.
For several months, the Russian media and social networks have been discussing whether mobilization will occur after the State Duma elections, which are being held from September 18 to 20. The Russian authorities have already denied such plans several times. But Russians are massively reporting various signs of preparations for mobilization.
DW turned to its readers in Russia with a request to tell them if they see such signs. Their answers do not constitute a representative survey, but only illustrate the situation.
Subpoenas from military commissions
The most common reports received were about the sending of subpoenas from military conscription commissions. "My nephew received a subpoena for data verification", writes a DV reader from Naberezhnye Chelny. Two other victims - Maxim and Sergey - reported the same thing.
Judging by the reports, many people immediately leave the country after receiving such subpoenas. "A friend of mine left two months ago after receiving a subpoena to report for data verification", writes one of the reviews. Another DV reader reports the same thing with his acquaintances who found themselves in a similar situation. They are planning to leave the country in the coming days.
In addition to checking personal data, summonses are also sent to participate in military exercises, as is clear from other responses to the Russian editorial office of DW. A reader from the city of Murom, Vladimir region, wrote that 12 years ago his son got married and left for Germany, but recently received information in his e-mail that he would receive a summons. "Welcome to war", the message read.
Is this a hidden mobilization?
According to Artem Kliga, head of the legal department of the "Movement of Conscientious Objectors", a summons "for verification of data" in itself does not mean sending to war or mobilization. This is one of the reasons provided for in Russian legislation on the basis of which citizens can be summoned to appear before a military commission. Electronic summonses have the same legal force as paper ones, he says, recalling that in December 2025, Vladimir Putin signed a decree on calling up reservists for military exercises throughout 2026.
That is why neither the verification of data nor the summons for exercises in themselves prove the preparation of a new wave of mobilization, Kliga specifies. "Rather, it is about updating the data from the military register in case of a new mobilization," he adds.
A 19-year-old student said that rumors were circulating in his environment about an upcoming mobilization. Due to the nature of his work, a relative of his had connections in the security forces, and from there he learned that there would be mobilization in a month.
There is no confirmation of this yet. At the same time, the decree on partial mobilization from 2022 has not been formally canceled and is still in force. The press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, calls the reports of a new mobilization "information fiction". However, it is worth recalling that in May 2022, Peskov denied rumors of an upcoming mobilization. Eight days before the mobilization was announced, he said: "At the moment, there is no talk of this".
Peter from Moscow photographed an ad placed at the entrance to an apartment building in the capital. It talks about "recruitment of specialists for a volunteer detachment" for "work with unmanned aerial vehicles in Moscow and the Moscow region" - with a one-year contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense.
But the work could also be in "other regions of Russia". This is probably the southeastern part of Ukraine, since the Russian authorities have declared part of the occupied Ukrainian regions as their territory. Peter considers this a scam under the guise of participation in volunteer detachments. "They offer to go to the assembly point in Moscow, from where they no longer let you in," he writes.
And Artem Kliga draws attention to the fact that the "special contract" of the drone troops is an ordinary military service contract.
The recruitment of soldiers is transferred to employers
From many of the responses sent to the Russian editorial office of DW, it becomes clear that the recruitment of soldiers for the war is increasingly affecting employers in the country. "We have about 25-30 employees. One was called up for two-month exercises, and two others are fighting. Sometimes people from military commissions come and agitate for drone operators," writes the owner of a company from the Volga region.
DV also has a photo that is allegedly from the internal portal of "Sberbank". It makes it clear that the bank is planning to create a "scientific company" for the Russian Ministry of Defense. This is a plan for mobilization preparation, as well as for conducting "mobilization exercises". It is impossible to verify the reliability of this data, since "Sberbank" has not reported anything like this in open sources.
"On August 20, a businessman received a letter from the regional administration, calling on him to ensure the signing of contracts with 10 workers," wrote a reader named Sergey. DV has not seen the document itself. But such a practice exists. For example, in March 2026, the governor of the Ryazan region, Pavel Malkov, officially set quotas for enterprises to select candidates for military service under a contract.
Preparation for emigration
Amid rumors of mobilization, some are preparing to leave Russia. "Yes, we are preparing. My son is leaving in early September. He prepared a general power of attorney for my mother so that she can represent him before the institutions. When he prepared the power of attorney, they told him that there was a large influx at the moment", writes a reader of DW. "Yes, we are preparing passports for travel abroad", assures another.
There are currently no documents in public sources confirming that a new wave of mobilization is being prepared. "Bureaucrats are tasked with preparing the system for any decision of Putin. And if the decision is to mobilize, they must be ready," explains Artem Kliga.