Amnesty International: Russia's foreign recruitment for war amounts to human trafficking

Amnesty International said in a report published Thursday that Russia is illegally recruiting foreign nationals into its military through deception, blackmail, document confiscation and threats of deportation. The organisation found these practices meet the threshold for human trafficking under the UN Palermo Protocol, ratified by 178 states including Russia.

The conclusions are based on interviews with prisoners of war from more than a dozen countries held in Ukrainian captivity, almost all of whom described abuses during recruitment. Documented practices include contracts signed without informed consent, confiscated passports, restricted freedom of movement, inadequate training and threats against those attempting to leave.

How the recruitment works

Outside Russia, recruiters commonly offer fake civilian jobs — in logistics, warehouses or construction — paying around $2,000 a month, or promise help reaching the EU with Russia presented as a transit country. Once people arrive, their documents are confiscated. Some sign contracts with Russia's Defence Ministry believing them to be civilian employment agreements due to language barriers.

Inside Russia, labour migrants with irregular status and refugees are targeted, often given a choice between immediate deportation and signing a military contract. By April, Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters had identified 28,391 foreign nationals from 136 countries who had fought for Russia, a figure that excludes an estimated 10,000 North Korean troops deployed in late 2024.

One widely reported case involves Kenyan runner Evans Kibet, who was lured with a fake job offer, taken to a training camp and sent to the front in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, where he surrendered to Ukrainian forces in July 2025.

International reaction

Several countries, including India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Ghana, Jordan, South Africa and Botswana, have lodged formal protests. In March, Kenya's foreign minister travelled to Moscow, securing a Russian pledge to stop recruiting Kenyan citizens. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia intends to return Indian citizens once their identities are confirmed. On 12 March, the European Parliament adopted a resolution defining Russia's recruitment of foreign nationals as human trafficking and a grave human rights violation.