Russians describe forced & deceptive military recruitments

Vladimir Putin. has strongly denied speculation. that he's planning to call up. hundreds of thousands of Russians. to fight in Ukraine. Moscow has also maintained. that it only sends volunteers. to risk their lives on the front lines. But CNN is hearing. from Russians. who say their relatives are being coerced. or deceived. into joining the military. in a sort of hidden mobilization. CNN's Clare Sebastian reports. Look, did you sign the contracts voluntarily?

Shouts one woman. You must. They forced you. They beat you. Shouts another in tears. Desperately, the women tried to blockade. a bus leaving. this military recruitment center. in Russia's Penza region. The video, which emerged in June, a rare glimpse. into a quiet shift underway. in Russia's military recruitment system, a system it claims is entirely voluntary. I'm a small team. We see every day on the television. and on the internet.

how in Ukraine. they catch people. like homeless dogs. and drag them forcefully to the front. Here people. go voluntarily, as you know, and sign contracts. You've seen. since the mass. mobilization drive in 2022, Russia has mostly relied on life. changing financial incentives, backed by high octane marketing, to convince men to join up. But in the last few months, as Russian battlefield losses. have mounted, reports. of forced,

violent and deceptive recruitment. have risen sharply. Now its day to day practice. They try to find people. who are from vulnerable groups, who got some financial problems, who got problems. sometimes even with their health. Russians are very afraid. that speaking out on this topic. will put them or their families at risk. But we managed to exchange messages. with several people. who contacted us by human rights. groups, piecing together. a picture of what some.

are calling a covert mobilization. My brother was detained in a state. of alcoholic intoxication. by unknown employees. and taken to the local contract. service recruitment center. They forced him to sign a contract. The family wrote a formal complaint. It was rejected. Here's another. Unknown men arrived by car and took him. Sitting on a bench. with a couple of other men. by the entrance to his apartment block. This person says that uncle, a man. in his late 50s with severe.

health problems, was taken. They slipped him a document to sign, apparently a notification. that they were here. It turned out to be a contract. Both have now been. reported missing in action. The relatives we. spoke to talk of a climate of fear. I struggle to fall asleep. I have nightmares, they catch me. They're made worse. by a rise. in a different type. of financial incentive, which in particular, we will encourage those.

who provide assistance. in attracting citizens to sign contracts. We will provide financial payment. for each contract. Soldier Eagle, his name we've changed for safety. reasons, left the country. three months ago. but is still too afraid to show his face. Despite having a medical exemption, he says he found himself. pressured to sign both a contract. and a mobilization order. had his local recruitment office. He'd been. But they really pushed hard. for me to sign an accept. the mobilization order. In reality, this mobilization order.

meant that if mobilization were declared, I would have to report. for duty immediately. However, the staff insisted. that wasn't the case at all. A calculation. that used very possibly had to. How did you feel at that moment? More? Well, I panicked a bit, worried. that someone might sign on my behalf. I wouldn't have been able. to do anything about it. A growing sense of helplessness. to Russia's war. demanding ever more sacrifice at home.

Sebastian CNN, London. CNN has reached out. to the Russian Defense Ministry. for comment. Jill Dougherty is a CNN contributor. and former CNN Moscow bureau chief. She joins us now live in Washington. So much to get through. Jill, with you. and all of these latest developments. over the last few weeks, the majority of them focused. on benefiting Moscow, and putting more pressure. on President Zelensky. That seems to be the direction.

the white House has been headed in. And it's all culminated in reports today. that President Putin. perhaps has agreed to trilateral talks. In November. So we've been here before. It has been a while. But what, if anything, would look different. going into these talks. that hasn't been achieved in prior talks? Well, I think. that one, there are two issues actually. You could say.

one would be future security for Ukraine. Making sure that Russia doesn't. try to do this type of thing again. But the other thing is really. and this is kind of the nub of the issue, what happens in that Donbas region, which is the eastern part of Ukraine. that Russia really wants? And right now, the, state of play essentially is it. Zelensky is saying, yes, we could, go along with freezing the line of kind.

of, contact right now. What Russia has gotten. it would freeze the line along there. But Russia has been saying, no, we want more. We want areas in the Donbas region. that we, the Russians have not conquered. We want it all. And this, I think, is really going to be. a sticking point. And then the other thing. I would look at is. where will these talks take place? You know, when they're talking about.

three way talks. between or among the leaders. That to me is a question. because Putin has always said, yeah, we'll talk with Zelensky, but he has to come to Moscow, which of course, Mr. Zelensky is not going to want to do. So I think it's very questionable. at this point. When you look at the details, what does this mean? How would it work? Maybe good that they're saying, yes, we are willing to talk, but boy, you know, the devil is in the details.

Yeah, absolutely. And when you think about. some of the advantages. Russia has, and obviously Russia has the manpower, it has the resources, it has a large industrial base. All of that is obviously. working in its favor, but it hasn't made necessarily, as many gains, in terms of territory. as it would have liked to. by this point in time. You also have the situation. whereby the U.S. is intervening, as we. mentioned, in favor of the Russians. You have the sort of slowed. down the mystery slow down of,

Starlink star shield. You also have the, sanctions relief that. President Trump has allowed Moscow, which would obviously benefit. Russia on the battlefield. When you take all of that. into consideration. How does that tip the balance of power. when it comes to any kind of. negotiated settlement? Oh, I think it's very difficult. for Ukraine at this point. I mean, everything you mentioned. and there are some other points, you know, the Patriot missiles, etc., but I think.

what the United States is doing, President Trump obviously is frustrated. He wants this over. There are domestic. political considerations. where he wants a deal, to show. that he is the peacemaker, that he says he is, and he hasn't gotten it yet. So the pressure is really on Ukraine. Do a deal or else. And the. or else is. I think. what is ultimately concerning Zelensky. because he has said. without the help of the United States,

Ukraine really almost cannot continue. this war. Now the Europeans. are trying to fill that gap, but it is slow. It's complex. And can they actually do it? So, you know, I think at this point the, support of the. United States. is really the crucial element. And what the United States has been doing. is really pushing. Zelensky up against the wall. and saying, you do this.

and then using a variety of ways. to put that pressure on him. Joe, you and I, we both follow. Russian state media, and, it's only news. source now, which is state propaganda. at this point, sadly, very closely. How are they interpreting all of this? How are they reporting on it? Yeah, I think that's very interesting. So, from what I can glean, it's kind of like. they are beginning this. message of victory.

Victory is close. President Putin is a genius. who's gotten this year militarily. This is all in quotes, of course. Who has gotten us here. to this point where we are winning. And then I think the, support of Mr. Trump for president Putin is a boon for. Putin is an enormous gift, because he can also make the case. The Kremlin can that diplomatically. President Putin is a, quote, genius.

in getting to that point. So, I think they're preparing their people. for some type of victory. We always knew and we've discussed this. We always knew that they would spin it. as a victory. And now I think they have more, let's say many issues for that view. We just heard. Zelensky, Jill, talk about this idea. that he has some very clear. I'm using his words here. He has some very clear ideas,

in terms of what he's would look like. and how to get to peace. Obviously, he's floated. this idea of a trilateral meeting. I mean, the fact is, though, it is unclear, as you know, that, whether or not. Putin is, serious about peace himself, especially when you consider the fact. that there are so many sticking points. here, territorial concessions in the Donbas, NATO's eastward expansion, obviously, something that Putin. is vehemently against, security guarantees for Ukraine. So when Zelensky says, I have some clear ideas on. how to get to peace,

what does he mean by that? Well, I think he means the things. we've been discussing, you know, security guarantees. for the future. But mainly, that idea that Ukraine would. give up, I should say. Ukraine would accept the fact. that the that, the line of contact. between the two forces. would be frozen in place. I think that's about. as far as he would go. But as we've seen for a long time,

Vladimir Putin is not going to go. along with that. I think, you know, if you pull back. and you think, okay, what is Mr. Putin thinking? Which of course is inscrutable, but essentially if he, you know, he's. got the American president moving his way. in a big way, he's got a lot of problems. in Europe, right now. All you have to do is turn on the TV. and watch the riots. on the streets of Europe. with young people. So Putin sits there in the Kremlin.

and says Europe is falling apart. The United. States is moving to our side. Zelensky has problems. because he can't get the, military support. or diplomatic support that he needs. So I think Putin's impetus or motivation. at this point. would be simply to let this play out. It's going his way, let it happen, and he doesn't have to. do much of anything. except maybe stick his feet in the. in the ground and say,

I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do that, but give signals, you know, this, the release of the American, which is absolutely good news. for that family of of, the man who was released, Mr. Hubbard, that's good news. But I think that's another indication. of Putin. using what. he always does, which is here's. another little gift for you. You're, you know, Mr. Trump, you're going. in the right direction. Here's an American. I will release, remember, and I'll stop here.

But remember that. the former president, Mr. Medvedev, recently said. that we should be taking more Americans. and Europeans to hold them. So the two, in exchange for Russians. we want released. In other words, I think the Kremlin looks. at this. as an inexhaustible source of people. they can nab to, keep for the future, you know, kind of, insurance policy. when they need them. to release the people that Mr.

Putin wants. So it was good for the American, but I think it's a very easy gesture. for Mr. Putin to make, you know, older man released. people are happy, but it doesn't cost him. anything and scores points. I was just about to say that. it cost him nothing. In fact, he gained. not only perhaps. the lifting of those sanctions, but also being described. as a humanitarian. by President Trump's,

envoy there in doing so. Jill Dougherty, always great to see you. Thank you. Thank you Joe.