The ATESH partisan movement has reported a new tactic of covert mobilisation in Russia. Russian recruitment agencies and specialised call centres are now making mass calls to Russians who have mobilisation notices, demanding they immediately sign contracts with Russia’s Ministry of Defence.
ATESH reported this on Telegram.
According to the partisans, operators introduce themselves as staff from military enlistment offices and use psychological pressure and threats. People are allegedly told that if they refuse, they will be forcibly mobilised anyway, but without payments, benefits or social guarantees.
ATESH notes that the campaign is based on updated internal instructions for recruiters previously obtained by the Cyber-ATESH hackers.
According to these materials, women have been removed from the list of recruitment restrictions, the upper age limit has been raised to 64, and a number of illnesses — including HIV, hepatitis, insulin-dependent diabetes, previous heart attacks and strokes — are no longer grounds for refusal.
Also, the movement says, information about final payments is provided only at the candidate’s personal request, while criminal records are checked only superficially.
ATESH described the practice as coercion to sign contracts and urged call-centre staff, recruitment agencies and military enlistment offices not to take part in the system, but instead to pass internal instructions, databases and lists of its organisers to the partisans.