Citizens of Bangladesh and at least 28 other countries were forcibly or fraudulently recruited into Russia's armed forces after being promised civilian jobs or well-paid employment, according to the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, The Business Standard reported. The commission said international human trafficking networks operating across multiple countries had coordinated to deceive and coerce foreign nationals into joining the Russian military, and that many of the victims have been killed, injured, captured or reported missing.

Source: The Business Standard

The findings were published on Monday, October 26, in an updated report prepared for the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, and were also reported by The Washington Post. The commission investigated recruitment from 48 countries and found direct evidence of fraud and coercion involving nationals of 29 countries, including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Philippines. All identified victims were men aged 18 to 60, mainly from socioeconomically and educationally marginalised communities, the report said.

Recruiters advertised civilian jobs through social media and agencies — security guards, drivers, mechanics, electricians, construction workers, welders and technicians — often promising high salaries, accommodation, Russian citizenship and pensions. Agents arranged visas, air tickets and accommodation, charged fees of $400 to $8,000 per recruit — in other words, sums many families had to borrow to pay — and in the Bangladeshi cases the commission obtained business visas that said recruits had been invited by civilian companies, concealing the real purpose.

Soon after arriving in Russia, the recruits were handed over to the armed forces, their passports and phones were often confiscated, and they were forced to sign contracts with the Russian Defence Ministry written entirely in Russian, which many could not understand, the commission found. One recruit's wife told the commission: "They took his passport and just told him to sign here, here and here on the contract. It was only in Russian. He was totally pressured and had no choice."

The commission found that recruits received basic training lasting from just 20 minutes to a few days, and in some cases up to a month, before being deployed to Ukraine on dangerous frontline duties. Many were killed or went missing shortly after deployment. Nepal's foreign ministry has said at least 118 Nepali citizens serving in the Russian army have died and 132 are missing, and the Bangladeshi NGO BRAC has cited reports that at least 54 Bangladeshis were killed — figures reported by Nepali and Bangladeshi media.

The commission concluded the operations constituted human trafficking and violated fundamental human rights, clarified that the victims were not mercenaries and, once enrolled, were entitled to prisoner-of-war protections if captured, and urged Russia to end such recruitment, discharge trafficked foreign nationals and prosecute those responsible. Russia's UN mission said Russia does not recognise the commission's mandate and claimed its findings were based on falsified data, according to reporting on the report's presentation.