Men were grabbed "right on the street and even at work," Russia's independent human rights group Memorial reported on Dec. 9.
The police took off their identification badges and did not identify themselves, the report reads.
"They (detained men) are still kept in the military registration and enlistment office. Relatives of one of the detainees told our lawyers that they used force against him and forced him to undergo a medical examination. Now there is no contact with any men," Memorial said.
The Institute for the Study of War said on Dec. 4, citing documents from the Russian National Guard's Organizational and Staff Department, that despite President Vladimir Putin's announcement of the formal end of partial mobilization on Oct. 31, his initial mobilization decree continues to be in force and that "there are no legal grounds for dismissal from military service upon the expiration of service contract."
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed on Oct. 28 that the country had mobilized 300,000 people with an average age of 35.
Shoigu alleged that 80,000 mobilized soldiers were sent to Ukraine, with nearly half of this amount already engaged on the front line.
Yet, a statistical analysis by Russian independent media outlet Mediazona suggested that around 492,000 men have likely been conscripted into the army since Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's announcement of a "partial mobilization" of 300,000 men on Sept. 21.
(Updated: )
