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

The guides below are drafts: a lawyer has not reviewed them yet. This is not legal advice.

Whom to contact

5 organisations

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 contact matched to the organisation's site 26 September 2026

Message the bot @agsnowarbot

Soldiers' Mothers of St Petersburg

Free legal and social help for service personnel, conscripts and their families, with separate lines for soldiers and for conscripts.

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

Other ways to reach them: for soldiers: +7 906 263-17-17 · for conscripts: +7 911 772-34-40 · website (a call stays in the phone log and with the operator)

in Russia contact matched to the organisation's site 26 September 2026

Message the bot @smline_bot

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. There are fakes with lookalike names: @iditeiesom_info_bot, @lditelesom_info_bot. The real bot never asks for money or codes.

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 contact matched to the organisation's site 26 September 2026

Message the bot @iditelesom_info_bot

Conscientious Objectors Movement

Legal ways to avoid military service: exemption from conscription, alternative civilian service, reserve status.

The website is blocked in Russia; open it via a VPN.

Other ways to reach them: info@stoparmy.org

in Russia and abroad foreign agent contact matched to the organisation's site 26 September 2026

Get in touch stoparmy.org

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 contact matched to the organisation's site 26 September 2026

Message the bot @nash_vyhod_bot

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. Get advice before taking any step.
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, Go by the Forest (Idite Lesom). Relatives' public appeals sometimes lead to pressure, so talk the risks through first.

current as of 25 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

Need a lawyer

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