Illegal mobilisation sparks 574 criminal cases in occupied Crimea – Crimean Human Rights Group’s report
The Crimean Human Rights Group reported 574 cases of criminal persecution against Crimean residents refusing Russian military service, with 497 convictions. Of these, 244 cases began after the full-scale invasion.

The Crimean human rights organisation highlighted that the Kremlin and occupation authorities in Crimea keep using targeted and prosecutorial methods to illegally conscript the local population. Since 2015, Russia has forcibly conscripted Ukrainian citizens from Crimea into its military.
So far, as of October 2024, there have been 20 conscription campaigns of the occupied population, resulting in a general estimate of roughly 50,000 Crimeans being called to active duty in the Russian military since 2015.
The Ukrainian government has not been able to pinpoint the exact number of Crimeans that have specifically been mobilised into the Russian military since 2022 as a result of the full-scale invasion. Nevertheless, the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea declared that at least 1,732 soldiers of the Russian army from units stationed in occupied Crimea ho have been killed. 1,159 of them were likely citizens of Ukraine. The number of dead may be higher, as Russia is hiding its real losses.
The Ukrainian government has not been able to pinpoint the exact number of Crimeans that have specifically been mobilised into the Russian military since 2022 as a result of the full-scale invasion. Nevertheless, the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea recorded at least 1,732 soldiers of the Russian army from units stationed in occupied Crimea who have been killed. 1,159 of them were likely citizens of Ukraine. The number of dead may be higher, as Russia is hiding the real losses.
One method of the occupational forces uses Article 328 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Evasion of service in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation) to force Crimean men into Russian military service and persecute those who resist.
Additionally, once the full-scale invasion began and mobilisation came to Crimea in September of 2022, Russian military officials developed the practice of waiting outside Mosques in certain cities to issue mobilisation summonses at the exits, in a blatant attempt to target marginalised, or what is often seen as “disloyal” communities. The Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea stated that Russians use them as “cannon fodder” for the war against their own countrymen on the mainland. These targeted and prosecutorial practices have affected more than just the Muslim community on the peninsula, as these tactics are often used as punishment for anti-war or anti-Russian statements.
The practices of forced conscription and mobilisation of the Crimean population are in direct violation of international humanitarian law (IHL), specifically Article 8 (2)(a)(v) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which states that a prisoner of war or other protected person cannot be compelled to serve in the forces of a hostile power.
As well, forcing these illegally mobilised Crimeans to fight against their own country violates Article 8 (2)(b)(xv) of the Rome Statute: Compelling the nationals of the hostile party to take part in the operations of war directed against their own country.
Despite the Russian Federation’s withdrawal of its signature from the Rome Statute in November 2016, the conditions of jurisdiction outlined by the Rome Statute cover Ukraine and military actions committed against the Ukrainian population. This is due to the Ukrainian government’s declaration accepting ICC jurisdiction in February 2014 under Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute, which was backdated to November 2013. Additionally, Ukraine is a full member of the ICC beginning on January 1, 2025, which under Article 12(3), further solidifies ICC jurisdiction over cases related to Russia’s conduct related to the war and occupation of Ukrainian territory.
The Rome Statute is not the only legally binding set of laws that holds jurisdiction over the Russian Federation’s conduct as it relates to the forcible recruitment of the occupied population of Crimea. The Hague Regulations Article 23(h), as well as the Fourth Geneva Convention Articles 147 and 51 all have specific language prohibiting the enforced compulsion of protected persons (civilians) into the military service of a hostile power to fight against their own country.
Tamila Tasheva, the former Representative of the Mission of the President in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, explains that Russia’s actions with the forcibly conscripted violates its own laws regarding the conduct and treatment of its soldiers.

“Russian law stipulates that conscripts – primarily 18-year-old recruits – cannot be deployed to combat zones. However, this legal provision has been repeatedly violated. One stark example is the Moskva cruiser incident, where conscripted sailors, initially serving mandatory military duty, were abruptly reclassified as mobilised personnel and perished in combat,” Tasheva elaborates.
In addition to the conscription and mobilisation campaigns of the occupied Crimea, serious efforts to militarise and Russify the occupied Crimean children have been undertaken. According to the occupational authority’s own reports, 25,000 students just in Sevastopol alone are enrolled in the Russian military youth program “Yunarmiya” as well as other such programs. Children who show disinterest in the military programs or Russian educational systems are often seen as “disloyal” and are treated harshly through threats and harassment.
Though the militarisation programs for Crimean youths do not reach the threshold of full conscription or mobilisation by IHL standards, it is still a violation of Article 51 of the Fourth Geneva Convention; stating that it is prohibited for an occupying power to apply pressure or propaganda which aims at securing voluntary enlistment.
The human rights community in Ukraine also believes that the de-occupation of Crimea and other Ukrainian territories is necessary to stop the systematic violations of human rights committed by the Russian Federation. They urge other countries to support Ukraine with timely and sufficient weapons and military equipment supplies towards this end.