On September 25, police clashed with people opposed to the mobilization in the southern Russian region of Dagestan, underscoring the discontent with President Vladimir Putin's decision to send hundreds of thousands more men to fight in the Russian war in Ukraine.

Following Putin's announcement of Russia's first military mobilization since World War Two on September 21, protests have broken out in several regions around the country. Poor ethnic minority areas, like Dagestan, a Muslim-majority territory on the Caspian Sea coast in the North Caucasus, appear to be one the hotbeds of public anger.

Numerous images shared on social media showed confrontations with police in Makhachkala, the provincial capital, while protestors chanted "No to War." A video clip has also been released showing a man in civilian clothes shooting into the air in a square where women and children are. It is reported that clashes between the protesters and the police took place.

As part of the mobilization, 110 locals were called up. Numerous anti-mobilization protests commenced on September 24 in Russian Siberian cities, including Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude, Novosibirsk, Tomsk, Chita, and Khabarovsk. More than 100 people were imprisoned, and protests were broken up. Later, after receiving warnings, several of the detainees were freed. 

As part of Russia's mobilization effort, activists claim that minorities are being specifically targeted. At least 301 soldiers from Dagestan were found to have been killed in the conflict, more than any other Russian territory and more than ten times as many as those from Moscow, which has a population that is five times larger.