Russia is exploiting and deceiving foreign nationals to recruit them into its armed forces and deploy them to fight in Ukraine, with many cases amounting to human trafficking, according to Amnesty International.
The human rights organisation said in a report published on Thursday that Russia was increasingly targeting people from low-income countries in the Global South, exploiting the precarious circumstances of migrants living in the country.
Recruiters allegedly lure foreigners with false promises of employment, lucrative payments or a route to Russian citizenship. Others are pressured into military service by the threat of detention or deportation for overstaying work visas or alleged criminal offences, the Kyiv Independent reported.
“Once victims sign the paperwork, often in a language they do not understand, military commanders restrict their movements, deploy them to the front lines with minimal preparation, and threaten those who seek a way out,” Amnesty said.
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The organisation said Russia routinely misrepresented both the nature of military work and the risks involved. Foreign recruits were often promised civilian employment before being transferred into the armed forces.
Many received little military training before being sent to active combat zones, with some deployed after as little as two weeks. Amnesty described the practice as “an apparent disregard for human life.”
Two Sri Lankan nationals interviewed for the report said they had believed they were being recruited as cooks but were subsequently sent to the front line, where they were captured by Ukrainian forces within weeks.
“The scale of fighting is unimaginable. You do not see Ukrainian soldiers, only drones. Drones everywhere,” one said.
“I would never go back there.”
Amnesty said foreign recruits could have their passports confiscated after joining the Russian military, while their movements were severely restricted.
Pedro, a Brazilian IT professional, said he had travelled to Russia after signing what he believed was a contract for a well-paid technology job. After discovering he had been recruited into the military, he asked his commander to leave.
“If you try to escape, you will either go to jail or we will kill you,” he was told.
Amnesty called on Moscow to “immediately end all abusive practices involving the military recruitment of foreign nationals”.
“The level of exploitation and coercion involved led us to conclude that in many cases this amounts to human trafficking, as defined under the UN’s Palermo Protocol,” said Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International.
The scale of Russia’s reliance on foreign recruits has expanded as the war continues. Ukraine identified 27,407 foreign nationals fighting for Russia as of March 30, up from more than 18,000 in November, according to Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. The recruits were drawn from at least 135 countries.
The Ukrainian authorities said much of their data was gathered from captured foreign fighters, including through the “I Want to Live” programme, which encourages Russian forces to surrender.
“In total, hundreds of foreigners are currently held in Ukrainian captivity, and their number continues to grow,” the headquarters said. “Each week, Ukraine’s Defense Forces take captive one to three citizens of third countries, whom the Kremlin regime is effectively sending to certain death.”
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