# How men in Russia’s Penza region are being abducted and sent to war

https://mins.news/en/item/28600

- Meduza, 2026-08-21 16:12 UTC
- World
- Original: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/08/21/how-men-in-one-russian-region-are-being-abducted-and-sent-to-war

> Since mid-June, men in Russia’s Penza region have reportedly been seized from streets, homes, police stations and other locations, then pressured through deception, bribery, threats or force to sign Defense Ministry contracts and fight in Ukraine. iStories reports that Tamara Pavlutkina, who heads the Bashmakovsky District administration and United Russia branch, may be behind recruitment quotas.

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- [In Ukraine, forcible military recruitment efforts escalate into violence](https://mins.news/en/item/26125) — Al Jazeera, 2026-08-19