Thousands of Russians are now facing travel bans after the Kremlin activated a new nationwide electronic military draft system a move aimed at preventing potential conscripts from leaving the country.
The rollout coincides with Russia’s fall conscription campaign, which runs from October through December, during which the Defense Ministry plans to summon 135,000 men aged 18 to 30 the largest draft since 2016.
Originally, this digital system was supposed to launch only in Moscow, the Mari El Republic, and the Ryazan and Sakhalin regions. However, reports suggest that electronic call-up notices are now being distributed across 15 or more regions, including Tver, Pskov, Nizhny Novgorod, and Chelyabinsk.
Once a notice is issued, the individual’s name is added to a government database, automatically barring them from crossing Russian borders. The system ensures that anyone who receives a digital draft summons cannot leave the country until they report for duty.
Rights groups warn that citizens are being misled by the electronic notifications.
“People are told they’re being called to verify personal data, but in reality, they’re immediately drafted,” explained Timofey Vaskin, a lawyer from the School for Conscripts organization.
This digital conscription system was developed after the mass exodus of Russians in 2022, when nearly a million people fled the country following Vladimir Putin’s earlier mobilization decree.
While Moscow has avoided another full-scale draft, recent battlefield losses are forcing the Kremlin to tighten control. Confidential Russian data reportedly shows that between January and August 2025, Russian forces suffered 281,550 casualties, including 86,744 killed, 33,996 missing, and 158,529 wounded making it one of the bloodiest years since the invasion of Ukraine began.
Analysts say this move signals Putin’s growing desperation to maintain troop numbers amid declining morale and ongoing resistance to mobilization.
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