Source: Amnesty International –
Russia has used deceptive, coercive and exploitative practices to recruit foreign nationals into its military forces and send them to fight in Ukraine, Amnesty International said in a new briefing published today. In many cases this amounts to the human rights violation and crime of human trafficking, which remains widespread in Russia and which the international community should urgently address.
The research details how recruiters have lured individuals from abroad into the Russian Armed Forces under false pretences and exploited the precarious circumstances of migrants and refugees already present in Russia. Those targeted are primarily from low-income countries in the Global South.
“Amnesty’s research demonstrates how Russia’s Armed Forces are bolstering their ranks with economically vulnerable foreign nationals and using them as cannon fodder in the war of aggression against Ukraine. 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, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.
“Building on pre-existing exploitative migration pathways and abusive practices towards migrants and refugees in Russia, recruiters have developed a system of coercion, fraud and deception, including false promises of civilian or non-combat employment, to enlist foreigners in the military. 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.”
The briefing is based on interviews with individuals from Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Somalia and South Africa conducted at two Ukrainian prisoner of war camps between 2024 and 2026; and conversations with foreign nationals currently serving with Russian forces and members of their families as well as lawyers, human rights activists and journalists.
Among their primary tools to recruit foreign nationals, the Russian authorities have weaponized the irregular immigration status of those who overstay work-related visas and the precarious situation of foreigners accused of criminal offences, presenting enlistment as a favourable alternative to detention and deportation.
Amnesty’s research demonstrates how Russia’s Armed Forces are bolstering their ranks with economically vulnerable foreign nationals and using them as cannon fodder.
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General
Amnesty International interviewed two Sri Lankan men recruited after overstaying their work visas, as well as Cuban and Egyptian nationals who were jailed for alleged drug possession and offered the opportunity to sign military contracts instead of serving or completing their prison sentences. The organization also received testimony from a refugee from Central Africa who was detained after his temporary protection status expired and threatened with deportation unless he signed up with Russia’s Armed Forces.
Obscuring or misrepresenting the risks involved and the specific nature of the work on offer has become key to the Russian Army’s recruitment of migrants. The prospect of military service is typically presented as a non-combat support function, such as working in a military kitchen or as a driver far from the front line. The two Sri Lankans said they were led to believe they would be working as cooks but were sent to fight on the front lines and captured within weeks by Ukrainian forces. “The scale of fighting is unimaginable. You do not see Ukrainian soldiers, only drones. Drones everywhere,” one said. “I would never go back there.”
Local agents and misleading online job advertisements have been instrumental in deceiving foreign nationals in their home countries. Individuals from Brazil, Colombia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa and Sri Lanka who had been recruited from outside Russia said they were falsely promised civilian jobs in security, logistics, construction, IT and other sectors, often with assurances of high salaries and expedited access to Russian citizenship – only to be fraudulently drawn into the Armed Forces upon arrival.
A South African man who applied online for a driving job in Poland received instructions via an agent on WhatsApp to fly to Moscow to pick up a truck and drive it to Poland, his wife told Amnesty International. “Upon arrival to Moscow, everything was taken from him… He was told that he would not be going to Poland and that he is becoming a soldier.”
Many recruits were promised lucrative salaries and sign-up bonuses that were not fulfilled. While some received partial payments before being captured, many reported receiving nothing at all. Beyond financial remuneration, all those interviewed described promised pathways to Russian citizenship as a particular incentive.
All the interviewees alleged severe restrictions on their freedom of movement after signing military contracts. Recruits from Brazil and Sri Lanka said their passports and mobile phones were taken from them during training or prior to front line deployment. Others said they could not leave the facilities they were taken to after signing the paperwork, with all transportation conducted in a secretive and strictly controlled manner.
Pedro, a Brazilian IT professional recruited after signing what he thought was a contract for a well-paid tech job in Russia, said he asked his commander to leave but was told: “If you try to escape, you will either go to jail or we will kill you.”
Lack of military experience seems to be no barrier to recruitment, with most enlistees deployed to active combat zones after just two weeks of training. Many reported insufficient preparation, lack of equipment, and limited communication with commanders due to language barriers. This suggests that recruitment of foreign nationals is driven by a desire to increase the sheer numbers of Russia’s front line forces, with little or no concern for combat readiness and an apparent disregard for human life.
The patterns documented in this research raise serious concerns over Russia’s violations of its international law obligations, including apparent involvement in human trafficking, failure to criminalize and combat human trafficking; conduct prompt and effective investigations of all reported crimes and serious human rights violations and abuses; identify and protect victims and survivors; and bring to account anyone suspected of being responsible or complicit in such practices.
Amnesty International calls on Russia to immediately end all abusive practices involving the military recruitment of foreign nationals and their treatment in training centres and at the front line. This includes recruitment through coercion, deception and misinformation; the exploitation of economic, legal or other vulnerabilities of foreign nationals in Russia and individuals from economically disadvantaged communities in the rest of the world; and restrictions on their movement once in Russia or Russian-occupied Ukraine.
These recruitment networks reach far and wide, into vulnerable communities across the world, leaving a trail of exploitation, loss, and pain far beyond war-torn Ukraine.
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General
States whose nationals are at risk or have been affected by such practices should take proactive protective measures, including issuing clear public warnings and guidance on the risks of deceptive or fraudulent recruitment schemes linked to employment in Russia or third countries. They should also take active steps, at national, regional and global level, to end the crime of human trafficking and seek accountability for those responsible, as well as remedies for people subjected to coercion, exploitation or abuse.
The briefing also contains a series of calls to the Ukrainian authorities, including with regard to third-country nationals being held as prisoners of war.
“The human suffering caused by the trafficking of foreign nationals by Russia, or by those it has enabled and incentivized, is not restricted to the front line in Ukraine. These recruitment networks reach far and wide, into vulnerable communities across the world, leaving a trail of exploitation, loss, and pain far beyond war-torn Ukraine,” Agnès Callamard said.
“If Russia refuses to put an end to human trafficking and continues exploiting vulnerable communities globally, other states must do everything in their power to stop this crime. There must be full accountability for all those directly involved and all those complicit, whether as private recruiters or intermediaries, state officials or military commanders. Wherever human trafficking has occurred, its victims and survivors should be identified and treated as such, with all evidence collected and preserved in order to pursue those responsible.”
