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Someone close is at war: refusing to fight, AWOL, missing or captured

Right now

  1. Write to the unit, enlistment office, military prosecutor and ombudsman if contact is lost.
  2. Get advice before any step: going AWOL is a criminal offence (art. 337 CC).
  3. Don't publish or forward a serviceman's unit number, location or movements.

Write to Call to Conscience Who helps (6)

Draft: not yet checked by a lawyerThe guides below are drafts: a lawyer has not reviewed them yet. This is not legal advice.

Draft What human rights defenders advise

Someone close is at war: missing, captured or wanting out
  • If contact is lost, human rights groups advise writing straight away to the unit, the enlistment office, the military prosecutor and the human rights ombudsman. Keep copies of every request and reply.
  • After 6 months without news a court can declare the person missing. Searching, getting the status and giving a DNA sample are free. Anyone asking for money is usually a scammer.
  • A contract or mobilised soldier can state in writing that they refuse to bear arms on grounds of conscience and push for a medical board. Human rights groups advise doing this with a lawyer.
  • Leaving a unit without permission is a criminal offence (art. 337 CC), and those prosecuted are often sent back to the front before any trial. Before taking any step, get advice from the lawyers of Call to Conscience or Idite Lesom (foreign agent).
  • Don't publish or forward the unit number, location or movements of a serviceman. It is dangerous for him and for you (arts 275 and 283 CC).
  • Where to turn: Call to Conscience, Soldiers' Mothers of St Petersburg, Our Way Out (foreign agent), Go by the Forest (Idite Lesom, foreign agent). Relatives' public appeals sometimes lead to pressure, so talk the risks through first.

current as of 26 September 2026. More: Call to Conscience: review of persecution of soldiers who refused to fight; Our Way Out: a soldier has stopped getting in touch (foreign agent); T-Zh: who helps conscripts and soldiers in 2026

Who helps

6 organisations · contacts checked against the organisations' sites 26 September 2026
Where you are now

Shows those who help where you are now. The choice works only on your screen.

Call to Conscience

Helps people refuse military service: advice for conscripts, mobilised soldiers, contract soldiers and their families, court defence, conscientious objection.

The only official bot is @agsnowarbot. It never asks for money or SMS codes.

Other ways to reach them: Delta Chat · agsnowar@gmail.com · website

online
Message the bot @agsnowarbot

ICRC Central Tracing Agency

Neutral intermediary: takes family requests to trace missing military and civilians, passes information and family messages. Visits detainees in Ukraine; last visit in Russia was in 2024. Works confidentially.

A relatively safe channel for people in Russia or under occupation: there is a free Russian number. No guarantee of results. The ICRC is not present in the occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. It works officially in Russia (a delegation in Moscow, teams in Donetsk and Luhansk).

Other ways to reach them: 0 800 300 155 · 8 800 600 92 69 · +7 495 626 54 26 (a call stays in the phone log and with the operator)

Get in touch familylinks.icrc.org

Go by the Forest

How to avoid conscription and mobilisation; helps servicemen leave the country and find asylum.

The only official bot is @iditelesom_info_bot, 10:00–22:00 Moscow time. The project never writes first and never takes money. On 25 September 2026 it warned about fake bots, including @iditelesom1_info_bot, @iditelesom_official_bot, @iditelesom_helping_bot, @iditelesom_bot; one offered 'evacuation via Kursk', another extorted money.

The only official bot is @iditelesom_info_bot. It never asks for money or SMS codes.

Other ways to reach them: website

abroad foreign agent
Message the bot @iditelesom_info_bot

Our Way Out

A movement of relatives: helps search for missing soldiers and press for the return of prisoners of war, and advises where to send requests.

The only official bot is @nash_vyhod_bot. It never asks for money or SMS codes.

Other ways to reach them: info@nvyhod.org · website

online foreign agent
Message the bot @nash_vyhod_bot

Need a lawyer

In Russia, lawyers are found by First Department (foreign agent) and Solidarity Zone (foreign agent). Lawyers abroad known for defending political cases: list of lawyers →

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