Women on Russia’s military rolls are being summoned to enlistment offices in large numbers, and some are receiving unlawful summonses to reserve training. Here are their options.

Per Meduza, Russia's military enlistment offices are summoning women from its military registers in large numbers—some with illegal orders to attend reserve training, which Russian law explicitly prohibits. The outlet spoke with pregnant women and others who received these summonses despite the Defense Ministry's twenty twenty-two assurance that women would not be conscripted. Authorities blamed the earlier summonses on technical errors; the military registry still contains glitches. But legal experts suspect the summonses also aim to pressure women into signing military contracts. Timofey Vaskin, a legal expert at the human rights project Conscript's School, advises any summoned woman to consult a lawyer first and read everything carefully before signing—because refusing to report can result in fines and restrictions.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton