Forced immigrants in Russia to participate in Putin’s war
Tens of thousands of inmates have apparently been recruited by Russia’s Wagner mercenary force to fight in Ukraine. However, it is becoming much more difficult to locate volunteers, even in jails, due to the rising toll of injuries and extrajudicial killings.
Many prisoners are now concerned that they could be simply coerced into fighting, and migrant labourers from Central Asian nations.
He informed his father at the end of January that several Central Asians had been transported.
“They were denied the option. They were instructed to sign the agreement before being dropped.
She claims that initially, the parents were ready to go to court to prevent having their kids end up in Ukraine. But after that, they refused out of concern for the punishment their kids may receive.
Farukh, an Uzbek national imprisoned in Russia’s Rostov region, spoke with BBC Uzbek (not his real name). Many of his prison colleagues joined Wagner. Farukh claimed that at first it was consensual, but now he is concerned that detainees would be coerced into fighting.
“Because everyone believed that Russia was more powerful and would ultimately triumph, either in a month, three months, or year, I initially thought about leaving as well. Now that we are aware of the sheer number of deaths occurring there.
Not just in jails, but in other places as well, Central Asian residents are persuaded to fight for Russia. According to the most recent estimates from the Russian Interior Ministry, there are approximately 10.5 million migrants from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan working in Russia overall. And military recruiters can use that as a huge resource.
At the Moscow immigration centre, Russian authorities publicly enlist people to serve in the military. Even in Tajik, Kyrgyz, and Uzbek, there are advertisements promising inhabitants of these nations.
