> People are not snatched off the streets in Russia

"The authorities in Penza, a regional capital of around half a million south-east of Moscow, got unlucky: one of the most recent enlistment round-ups of men in the region was filmed by the men’s furious wives. After the clip of men being forced off to war spread across social media, the local military commissar, the police and even the Defence Ministry had to scramble to explain themselves and brand the viral video “fake news”. But by all appearances, the round-ups in Penza region have been going on for at least six months."

https://en.zona.media/article/2026/06/23/penza_raids