Officials in the Moscow mayor’s office acknowledged that many Russians who come to Unified conscription centers for military service should be seeing a psychiatrist instead.
Moscow posted one of the lowest figures in Russia for recruiting volunteers to serve under contract in the Russian army. In December 2025, just 879 Moscow residents chose to sign a contract with Russia’s armed forces—nearly 56% fewer than in the same period in 2024, when almost 2,000 residents of the capital voluntarily decided to become occupying soldiers, reports Verstka, citing data from Moscow City Hall.
“All kinds of riffraff are showing up,” a source in Mayor Sergei Sobyanin’s administration told the outlet.
The source suggested that many of those coming to the Unified selection centers for military service ought to consult a psychiatrist.
Another source, who provided documents with statistical indicators, said that “Russians are tired of the war, and everyone who wanted to go has already done so.”
“Recruitment plans fell through: instead of a 30–40% increase, the opposite happened,” the source concluded.
The total number of volunteers from Moscow who joined the Russian army was 24,469, about a quarter less than in 2024.
