A PUSH FOR YEAR-ROUND CONSCRIPTION
The leadership of the State Duma's Defense Committee had introduced a bill laying the groundwork for continuous conscription, pending approval by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The professed purpose of the bill is to ease existing pressures on enlistment offices and increase the quality of mandatory military service by spreading out medical evaluations, psychological testing, and draft board sessions. Currently, presidential decrees authorize two annual conscription periods – the first stretching from April 1 to July 15, and the second from October 1 to December 31. (Meduza, July 22, 2025)
DESTABILIZING MOLDOVA... VIA THE BALKANS
The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and Moldova's Security Intelligence Service, the SIS, have uncovered pro-Russian paramilitary training camps located in Bosnia and Herzegovina's Republika Srpska, as well as the village of Radenka in eastern Serbia. The camps were active in 2024 and geared toward the recruitment and training of Moldovan citizens to carry out "destabilization" activities in the run up to that country's Fall 2024 elections — with the objective of tipping the political balance in favor of pro-Russian politicians. The camps were run by instructors allegedly affiliated with the Wagner paramilitary group, or who had participated in similar destabilization operations. BIRN and Serbian investigators uncovered evidence of the paramilitary camps, finding remnants of drone equipment and scorched earth at the camp locations. (Balkan Insight, July 15, 2025)
RUSSIA'S NEW ENFORCERS
Local Russian police forces are losing manpower as thousands of officers opt to join the war in Ukraine, drawn by the lure of higher salaries. Many towns and cities in the country are now missing as much as half of their respective police forces – a situation that has created a major void in domestic law enforcement. Russian nationalist vigilante groups, consisting largely of veterans returning from the front, have organized and stepped in to fill this law enforcement deficit.
Notably, however, the actions of these groups go beyond typical police work. They have included raids on immigrant communities and the targeting of individuals at variance with the Kremlin's ideology of "traditional values." These groups have detained migrants to check their work status, raided LGBTQ+ gatherings and arrested participants, and forced people to enlist in the military. Moreover, they operate with relative impunity, since many are backed by Russian government officials and powerful businessmen. (Wall Street Journal, July 16, 2025)
THE WAR AND HIV
The Ukraine war has had profound effects on Russian society in many ways – from greater Kremlin censorship to economic decline to mass emigration. One of the most potentially significant, however, has been in the arena of health. Russia's HIV statistics, which were poor even prior to the conflict, have "dramatically worsened" since the start of the war in February 2022, The Moscow Times reports. The paper, citing official data released by Russia's Defense Ministry, details that incidents of HIV among military personnel have surged "by more than 40 times."
That statistic has dramatically amplified the country's already-severe problem with the disease. Back in 2016, the number of Russians with HIV surpassed the 1,000,000 person mark – nearly one percent of the national population. Meanwhile, less than 50% of those diagnosed with HIV are now actively receiving treatment. Now, the war is making matters even worse. "Epidemiologists say that the risks of HIV spreading at the front increase with blood transfusions and the reusing of syringes in field hospitals," the Times notes. (The Moscow Times, July 28, 2025)