Lured by 'work,' sent to war: how Russia recruits foreigners for the Ukraine front
Ukrainian intelligence says Russia is now also recruiting Indonesians through social media; Indonesia has formally objected. From Central Asia, hundreds have already been killed.
Russia is recruiting foreign nationals through social media and sending them to fight in Ukraine — often promising civilian jobs, then forcing them to the front. According to Ukrainian intelligence, the latest victims are Indonesians. Uzbek and other Central Asian labor migrants have already fallen into this trap.
Indonesia: a new source country
On August 27, 2026, Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service said it had documents on at least eight Indonesians recruited into the Russian army. On October 27, Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Directorate (HUR) reported that a man born in 1978, a former Jakarta taxi driver identified in official statements by the initials "MT," was killed about a week after being sent to the front; he had signed a one-year contract. Indonesia's ambassador to Russia, Jose Antonio Morato Tavares, said the Moscow embassy had received reports from dozens of families.
How the deception works
Recruiters advertise construction or other civilian work, high pay, non-combat duties, expedited Russian citizenship and benefits on social media. People arrive expecting civilian jobs, then are tricked or coerced into signing Russian Defense Ministry contracts and sent to the front. Experts compare the tactics to those of fraudulent 'scam-center' criminal networks.
Central Asia: hundreds of casualties
According to an obituary-based count by the BBC Russian Service and Mediazona (July 2025), among 523 foreign nationals from 28 countries killed fighting on Russia's side, at least 66 were from Uzbekistan and 72 from Tajikistan. These figures are a floor — documented deaths only; the overall foreign-national toll had passed 3,500 by July 2026. Estimates of the total number of Central Asians vary widely and are not mutually reconcilable, so they cannot be summed.
Uzbekistan's law
Uzbekistan bars its citizens from serving in foreign armies; all five regional states criminalize mercenary military service. Per RFE/RL monitoring, several Uzbek citizens have been sentenced (mostly non-custodially) for fighting on Russia's side; one man tried in Andijan admitted to killing "more than 10 Ukrainian soldiers." Tashkent continues to investigate and prosecute returning fighters.
Indonesia's demand
Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yvonne Mewengkang said at a November 2 press conference: "The Indonesian government has asked the Russian government to take the necessary steps to ensure that Indonesian citizens are not recruited into the Russian military or other military-related formations through any channel." Jakarta also asked to be formally added to the list of excluded countries (like India, Sri Lanka, Colombia and South Africa). The intelligence figures cited here were released by Ukrainian authorities; Russia generally does not officially acknowledge such recruitment.
