Authorities in Russia have once again proposed sending immigrants who have received Russian citizenship to fight in Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry has increased the size of payments for those who sign contracts to join Russian troops fighting in Ukraine. An article published by Radio Azattyk (RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service) reveals how Russia lures Central Asians to the war in Ukraine.
Aman, a native of Kazakhstan, told Azattyk that he is fighting on the Russian side in the Donetsk region of Ukraine: “This is the road to death. I signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense in the Moscow region in February. We had two months of military training, they taught us how to hold a submachine gun. When we came here, they told us that we would be on the defensive, but in the end they sent us to the front lines. Here we live in anticipation of death. I met many Kazakhs, Tajiks, and Kyrgyz here. We all turned out to be slaves to money. They pay what they promised, but the price is too high. Many have been buried here. Relatives are looking for them, waiting, thinking that they are alive. But their bodies remain here.”
“I recently spoke with a Tajik who was wounded here, but after treatment in the hospital he returned to the battlefield,” Aman continues. “This soldier bragged that he bought a house in Russia with the money he received, including for his injury. He said that his mother was picking out furniture. He joked that if he was wounded again, he would be able to buy furniture. I advise everyone not to come here. Sweep the yard, do construction work, but do not come here. And if you come, be prepared to die. I know that I will not return alive.” This is the story of just one of hundreds of those who signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense and went to war.
Last week, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin signed a document according to which those who signed a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry in the capital will receive a one-time payment of 1.9 million rubles. Immediately after this news, announcements offering to sign a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry appeared in social media and messenger groups including migrants from Central Asia.
One such migrant, Abdullah, a native of Tajikistan, said that he went to war from the city of Ryazan: “At first I was scared, but now I’m used to it. A few days ago I came on vacation, I’ll be going back soon. Everyone has their own head on their shoulders and everyone has to decide for themselves whether they want to go to war. I really needed money. My son is disabled, he can’t walk. I was thinking about spending the money on my son’s treatment. But I would like to say that if there is no great need, it is better not to go [to war]. It will not be possible to go home, we are here until the end of the war. Everyone who is here wants the war to end as soon as possible. After receiving money, you only think about this. We hope that it will end this year.”
The head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bastrykin, has proposed sending migrants who have received Russian citizenship to war in Ukraine, saying that migrants who refused to serve in the army should be stripped of their citizenship.
In June, Bastrykin said that the authorities “have already managed to catch about 30 thousand people who received citizenship and do not want to register for military service.” He also reported that “about 10 thousand migrants who received Russian citizenship were sent to rear units in the special military operation zone” in Ukraine.
Human rights activists note that the number of Central Asians recruited to fight in the Ukraine war has increased recently.
Rakhat Sheraly, a migration specialist at the Insan-Leylek public foundation, says: “Every time the [Russian] Ministry of Defense increases the size of payments, the number of people willing to go to war increases. Migrants want to obtain Russian citizenship and earn money. They agree because they are paid more than they earn in civilian life.”
A year earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree granting Russian citizenship in a simplified manner to foreigners who signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense to participate in the war in Ukraine. According to the document, Russian citizenship is granted not only to the person who signed the contract, but also to his family members. However, such a person does not have the right to leave Russia.
Authorities of Central Asian countries have warned their citizens of criminal responsibility for participating in military actions abroad.
