Hunt for 'cannon fodder': partisans reports escalating mobilization in Dagestan

The Atesh partisan movement reported the information.

"According to agents of the Atesh movement in Dagestan, particularly in Makhachkala, a new wave of covert mobilization has started. There are police patrols on the streets, mass document checks, and a hunt for young men. Officially, this is the summer draft, but in reality, they are gathering 'cannon fodder' to replenish the shattered units of the Russian army," the report says.

According to locals, young people are being detained on the streets, checked against databases, and then, if they have no deferments, sent to military enlistment offices.

"There, they are registered and then 'it depends on luck': from being handed a draft notice to being immediately sent to assembly points. In one case, a young man was simply shoved into a minibus without explanation, and just a few days later he was on his way to serve," writes Atesh.

According to the partisans, such covert mobilization is a sign of a personnel shortage in the Russian army. They also emphasize that after the losses from the offensive operations of 2024-2025, "the occupation command is trying to replenish its ranks at the expense of the national republics, whose populations are considered expendable."

• On June 29, Atesh agents conducted a detailed reconnaissance of the Balaklava Bay area, where they recorded suspicious activity at an abandoned military facility—the former underground submarine base (facility 825 GTS).