Twice within the first week of September, Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly dismissed rumors of a looming mobilization campaign in the country. On September 1, Putin called the rumors "complete nonsense" and described them as an "information attack" against Russia.

Two days later, on September 3, at the Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Putin said that "there is no scenario today that would require mobilization."

Summons are cause for unease among Russian DW users

DW's Russian service asked readers in Russia, on condition of anonymity, whether they see signs of an impending mobilization. The most common response from DW readers concerned receiving summonses from military enlistments offices.

"My nephew received a summons for data verification," wrote a reader from the industrial city of Naberezhnye Chelny.

"I received a summons ordering me to appear for data verification. I'm self-employed. What should I do?"  wrote a user named Maxim.

"One of my friends, a school teacher, received a summons through the government services portal [Gosuslugi] on July 9 to update his records," said another reader, Sergei.

People fear that they may be called up for military service or lose the ability to leave the country freely. As a result, some of those who have received draft notices are seeking to travel abroad as quickly as possible, while restrictions on leaving the country have not yet taken effect.

"One acquaintance of mine left Russia two months ago after receiving a summons for data verification from the military enlistment office," one reader wrote.

Emigration as 'a fantasy'

Not everyone, however, sees emigration as a realistic option in the event of mobilization.

"As for leaving, that's a fantasy. Where would you go, and more importantly, with what money?" one DW reader wrote.

In June, reports emerged from Russia's Penza region that men were forcibly taken to military enlistment offices and pressured into signing military contracts. According to local reports, the practice became widespread enough that residents organized protests in support of relatives and neighbors. Journalists reporting on the issue say such raids are continuing.

"People are being detained, particularly near the entrances to their apartment buildings," Lena Lemyasova, a journalist with news outlet Important Stories [Vazhnye Istorii], told DW. "Often men who have been drinking. Unknown individuals approach them, or vehicles pull up — often cars provided by local authorities. The men are simply seized and taken away, then their families and neighbors hear nothing more. Later, information sometimes emerges that they were transported to military units. They are often held there before being sent to the front."

Important Stories specializes in investigative journalism. Its publisher, Roman Anin, spent ten years as investigations editor at well-known independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta.

What do Russian lawyers say about the summonses?

Does receiving a military summons mean a person will be sent to war? According to lawyer Artem Klyga, a summons issued "for data verification" does not in itself mean that someone will be drafted, mobilized or deployed. Data verification notices are one of several legally established reasons for calling someone to a military enlistment office.

"These summonses only show that military enlistment offices have significantly improved their military registration procedures. If mobilization begins, such records would help authorities quickly summon the people they need," Klyga explained to DW.

Russians have also increasingly reported receiving mobilization orders issued in advance. In peacetime, such orders do not oblige individuals to take any action. However, if mobilization is declared, recipients are required to report to their designated military enlistment office.

"They were issued before the war and during the war [against Ukraine] as well. But what changed in the first half of 2026 is that, judging by all indications, they began to be distributed in the hundreds of thousands," Russian lawyer Timofei Vaskin told DW. "We do not know the exact figures because the information is classified. But judging from social media reports and the number of inquiries we and our colleagues received, the increase was dramatic, by dozens of times."

At the same time, the 2022 decree on partial mobilization in Russia has never been formally revoked and technically remains in force.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has repeatedly described reports of a new mobilization wave as "fake stories." Yet critics note that Peskov also denied reports of a possible mobilization beginning in May 2022.

Just eight days before the announcement of partial mobilization, he said: "At the moment, this is not being discussed."

Growing demand for mobilization specialists

As of August 8, DW found several vacancies on the Russian job platform HeadHunter seeking specialists in "mobilization preparedness." 40 such vacancies are available in Moscow and the surrounding region and 13  in St Petersburg.

For example, some companies are looking for specialists responsible for ensuring that the organization has a mobilization plan in place and knows how it would operate if the state were to place the economy on a wartime footing. Their duties also include preparing the company for emergencies and civil defense measures, as well as helping to transition the organization to a special operating regime in the event of wartime conditions.

The positions were advertised by both private companies and state institutions.

Summonses, military training exercises, the expansion of military registration systems and active recruitment efforts help explain why official denials have failed to put the rumors to rest.

Preparing for ‘any decision Putin might make'

"The way to look at this is that bureaucrats have been tasked with preparing the system for any decision Putin might make. And if that decision is mobilization, they are expected to be ready," Artem Klyga said.

In late July, the independent outlet Agentstvo counted 197 vacancies around Russia containing the term "mobilization preparedness" and more than 2,600 vacancies related to "military registration" on the same recruitment platform.

Edited by: Carla Bleiker