Authorities in a minimum of 15 regions across Russia are enlisting local residents for a newly established mobilization reserve tasked with safeguarding strategic infrastructure, such as oil refineries that have been targeted by Ukrainian drones, according to the exiled news outlet Vyorstka, which examined government recruitment announcements on VKontakte.
Calls for reservists have emerged on the social media pages of local officials, municipal authorities, and major enterprises in areas including Bryansk, Kaliningrad, Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov, Tambov, Tula, and Yaroslavl, as well as in Bashkortostan and the Perm and Krasnoyarsk regions, among others.
This recruitment initiative follows the recent passage of legislation permitting the deployment of reservists to secure facilities within Russian territory.
As reported by Vyorstka, the announcements clarify that these reservists will not be sent to fight in Ukraine; rather, they will remain within their home regions to protect energy infrastructure and monitor for drones.
In the Bryansk border region, volunteers are also expected to “counter enemy sabotage groups,” assist in evacuating civilians, and help maintain counterterrorism measures, as per a post from a local vocational institution.
Officials in Bryansk are offering monthly salaries ranging from 40,000 to 100,000 rubles ($440 to $1,100), depending on rank, as well as one-time bonuses of up to 300,000 rubles ($3,300).
In areas further from the front lines, compensation is significantly lower: volunteers in Tula and Bashkortostan are promised between 2,000 and 10,000 rubles per month, plus bonuses for downed drones; in Perm, the amount is between 4,000 and 7,000 rubles; and in Kaliningrad, it reaches up to 6,300 rubles.
Some regions are also offering financial support for reservists attending training camps.
In Yaroslavl, officials are providing 21,000 to 57,000 rubles per training session, while soldiers in Tula may earn as much as 111,000 rubles and officers up to 150,000 rubles.
In Ust-Luga, a port town near St. Petersburg, volunteers will serve in two-month rotations guarding facilities, followed by two months off, with monthly earnings between 15,000 and 30,000 rubles.
Various posts advertise free “balanced meals” during training, weekend leisure activities, and highlight access to free medical care and medications as added benefits.
In-person recruitment meetings have been organized by officials in some regions.
Employment center staff in Krasnoyarsk and Yaroslavl have informed job seekers about “the benefits of contract service” and participation in the mobilization reserve, according to Vyorstka.
A source within the military commissariat indicated to Vyorstka that the Kremlin is expected to provide directives specifying the number of reservists each region is required to recruit.
On Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing the use of reservists to ensure security within Russia. This legislation, which was expedited through parliament in three readings, authorizes “special training deployments to protect critical and other life-support facilities.”
The General Staff has confirmed that reservists will not be deployed to combat in Ukraine.
