Amnesty says Russia traffics foreigners to fight in Ukraine

Russia's recruitment of foreign nationals to fight in its war against Ukraine often amounts to human trafficking, Amnesty International said in a report published on September 10, citing interviews with prisoners of war who said they were deceived into signing Russian military contracts. The rights group said recruiters lure people from poorer countries with false promises of civilian jobs in sectors such as security, logistics, construction, IT and driving, then coerce them into military service once they arrive in Russia. According to the briefing, the typical recruit is under 40 and lives in a low-income country. Recruiters also exploit the precarious situation of migrants already in Russia, weaponizing overstayed work visas or alleged criminal offenses and offering enlistment as an alternative to detention or deportation. Amnesty said recruits described having their passports and phones confiscated, being made to sign documents in languages they did not understand, receiving only about two weeks of training before deployment to combat zones, and facing unfulfilled promises of pay and Russian citizenship. Those who sought to leave were threatened, the group said.