The Russians describe how vulnerable men are lured into military service and forced to sign contracts -. CNN. Part 1/2 Their stories, told directly to CNN and corroborated by human rights organizations and a growing body of personal testimony and social media posts, paint a picture of subtle changes taking place in Russia's military recruitment system. Since the 2022 mass mobilization that sparked a stampede outside the country, Russia has relied heavily on large financial incentives to lure soldiers to the front. The findings indicate that this practice is now gradually giving way to coercion and fraud. This "creeping mobilization" threatens to undermine public support for the war just when the Kremlin needs it most. "I have (or rather, I had) an uncle. He is an elderly sick man, he has problems with blood vessels and alcoholism, he can hardly walk," said the message sent to CNN. According to the interlocutor, in July, his uncle, a 60-year-old employee of a state security company, was approached near his home by several men in civilian clothes and taken away in a car. Relatives did not know where he was taken, but said that on that day "they gave him a document to sign, supposedly a "notice that they are coming". It turned out to be a contract." This story, which took place in a city in western Russia, fits into a familiar pattern, noted Russian military lawyer Artem Kaliga, who works in Berlin and advises Russians on their rights in the field of military service. According to him, since the beginning of the summer there has been a sharp increase in requests regarding events of this type. "It's a daily practice now," he told CNN. Most of the cases he sees involve vulnerable men, often with debt or health or alcohol problems. "They simply don't have the opportunity to refuse, they simply don't know their rights," says Kaliga.

The Russians describe how vulnerable men are lured into military service and forced to sign contracts -. CNN. Part 1/2 Their stories, told directly to CNN and corroborated by human rights organizations and a growing body of personal testimony and social media posts, paint a picture of subtle changes taking place in Russia's military recruitment system. Since the 2022 mass mobilization that sparked a stampede outside the country, Russia has relied heavily on large financial incentives to lure soldiers to the front. The findings indicate that this practice is now gradually giving way to coercion and fraud. This "creeping mobilization" threatens to undermine public support for the war just when the Kremlin needs it most. "I have (or rather, I had) an uncle. He is an elderly sick man, he has problems with blood vessels and alcoholism, he can hardly walk," said the message sent to CNN. According to the interlocutor, in July, his uncle, a 60-year-old employee of a state security company, was approached near his home by several men in civilian clothes and taken away in a car. Relatives did not know where he was taken, but said that on that day "they gave him a document to sign, supposedly a "notice that they are coming". It turned out to be a contract." This story, which took place in a city in western Russia, fits into a familiar pattern, noted Russian military lawyer Artem Kaliga, who works in Berlin and advises Russians on their rights in the field of military service. According to him, since the beginning of the summer there has been a sharp increase in requests regarding events of this type. "It's a daily practice now," he told CNN. Most of the cases he sees involve vulnerable men, often with debt or health or alcohol problems. "They simply don't have the opportunity to refuse, they simply don't know their rights," says Kaliga.