The Interior Ministry directorate for Russia’s Penza region said information circulating online about numerous detentions of local residents for subsequent deployment to the war against Ukraine was false.
The agency said police officers, in its account, act strictly within the law. At the same time, it warned that the authors and distributors of reports about such detentions could be held liable.
“Stirring up this situation leads to rising crime and impunity. <...> Persons spreading inaccurate information will be held liable in accordance with Russian law,” the Interior Ministry said.
What preceded the statement
On June 18, reports emerged that in Penza, Kamenka and Kuznetsk, security forces together with military enlistment office staff were carrying out raids targeting men. According to those reports, the detainees were being pressured to sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry, after which they could be sent to the war against Ukraine.
In one video published by a local resident, women stand by a bus carrying men near a military enlistment office, try to prevent them from being taken away, and shout that their relatives were beaten and forced to sign contracts.
Police, however, said such roundups “are routine in nature” and are periodically conducted across the Penza region.