Since the beginning of the temporary occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Russia has applied its own legislation on military service to this territory. In particular, an illegal forced conscription of residents into the Russian Armed Forces is being carried out, which directly violates the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention and qualifies as a war crime.

As of October 2025, the occupying state has conducted 21 conscription campaigns, during which at least 53,000 people were illegally recruited into the Russian Armed Forces. The 22nd campaign is currently underway; it began on 1 October and will continue until 31 December 2025. The exact number of individuals planned to be conscripted is currently unknown.

Since 2023, Russia has implemented a series of legislative changes to digitalize military registration, including the creation of a “unified register of conscripts” and the introduction of electronic summons. Since May 2025, the register has been operational in temporarily occupied Crimea, effectively enabling conscription without personal delivery of summons. A provision has also been introduced allowing conscription decisions to be implemented throughout the year, with a transition to year-round conscription planned for 2026.

In addition to the illegal conscription, the Russian occupation administration prosecutes residents of Crimea for evading service. Since 2015, under Article 328 of the Russian Criminal Code (evasion of military or alternative service), 626 criminal cases have been opened, of which 317 were initiated after 24 February 2022. As a result, 515 convictions have been handed down, 56 cases resulted in fines, and 7 cases were closed due to “active repentance.”

In total, 570 individuals have been held accountable, including 567 for evasion of military service, 1 for evasion of alternative service, and 2 for “assisting” evasion. In 86.8% of convictions, the sentence was a fine ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 rubles.

There have been 10 cases of repeated convictions for evasion (one individual was convicted three times) and 7 cases of prosecution following a previous fine.

Persecution of Crimean Tatars is particularly disproportionate: they constitute 32% of those convicted. Convictions for evasion formally exempt an individual from mandatory military service until the sentence is expunged; however, this does not prevent mobilization, as the corresponding article is not included in the list of exemptions.

At the same time, none of the published verdicts mention or apply the Fourth Geneva Convention, indicating a complete disregard for the norms of international humanitarian law.