Russia is systematically recruiting migrant workers from Central Asia to fight in its war against Ukraine as "cannon fodder," Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) reported on June 21.

Citizens of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and other countries in the region are increasingly being drawn into Russia's war effort under duress or with misleading promises, HUR said.

Many of those recruited are reportedly killed on the front lines.

According to HUR, Russia's security services target migrant workers who arrive in the country seeking employment, offering short-term military contracts with promises of fast cash. These individuals often lack legal protections and face coercion, with few realistic alternatives.

Among the identified victims are Uzbek nationals Umarov Syroziddin Sabirjanovich and Kholbuvozoda Muhammad Faizullo, who served in motorized rifle units and died during combat operations in Ukraine.

"Mobilized migrants are formed into separate units, which are mainly used in the most dangerous areas of the front line," HUR said. Survivors may face criminal charges in their home countries for serving in a foreign military, carrying the risk of long prison sentences.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty previously reported that migrant workers are funneled into combat roles for financial reasons, with recruitment networks offering salaries unattainable in civilian life.

Russia has also intensified pressure on its naturalized migrant population.

On May 20, Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin said that 20,000 naturalized migrants had been dispatched to Ukraine for failing to register for military service.

With public memory raw from the unpopular 2022 partial mobilization that prompted over 261,000 Russians to flee, the Kremlin has refrained from another mass draft.

Instead, it is relying on a combination of forced recruitment, enlistment bonuses, and targeted campaigns among vulnerable communities.

‘All of Ukraine is ours’ — Putin on Russia’s territorial ambitions in Ukraine

Editor’s Note: This story was updated with comments from Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. Russian President Vladimir Putin said “all of Ukraine” belonged to Russia in a speech on June 20 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, amid increasingly aggressive official statements about Moscow’s final territorial ambitions in Ukraine. Putin’s

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Hodunova

Russia is increasingly recruiting citizens from Central Asian countries, particularly Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, to participate in combat operations against Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (DIU).

The recruitment targets primarily labor migrants who arrive in Russia seeking employment opportunities. Russian army representatives deceive these individuals by promising “quick earnings” through short-term contracts, the DIU reported on 21 June.

Intelligence data indicates that most such “volunteers” die in the war. Among recently eliminated mercenaries from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan were Umarov Sirozhiddin Sabirdzhanovich, born in 1984, and Kholbuvozoda Muhammad Fayzullo, also born in 1984.

The mobilized migrants are formed into separate units that are predominantly deployed to the most dangerous sections of the front, according to the intelligence directorate.

“Even if they survive service on the front, such combatants cannot return to normal life: in their countries of origin, criminal prosecution awaits them for participation in foreign state armed formations with the prospect of long-term imprisonment,” Ukrainian intelligence emphasized.

The practice represents Russia’s expanding recruitment efforts beyond its borders as it seeks to maintain military operations while avoiding broader domestic mobilization that could prove politically costly.

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