Bangladesh arrests two for luring locals to fight for Russia in Ukraine

Police in Bangladesh have arrested two people they say are linked to a trafficking network that deceptively recruited locals to fight for Russia in Ukraine.

The suspects, identified as Mizanur Rahman and Abu Taher, trafficked at least 30 people to Russia with false promises of high-paying jobs, Mohammad Asaduzzaman, commander of the elite police force Special Response Battalion, said on Wednesday. Once abroad, the victims’ passports and phones were taken, and they were handed over to the Russian military, he said.

Seventeen of the trafficking victims, who arrived in Russia in early May, were killed on the first day of deployment after being given minimal training, Asaduzzaman said. A total of 20 Bangladeshis have been confirmed dead.

“Bangladeshis were used as bait to locate enemy positions,” he said. “Russian forces determined their next course of action after the Bangladeshis fell victim to drone attacks.”

In addition to the 20 Bangladeshis killed, two more are being treated in a Moscow hospital while six others are still on the battlefield, police cited a survivor who was injured and managed to return home as saying.

The victims were from poor backgrounds and had paid around $8,000 for the fake jobs that brought them to Russia, Bangladeshi media reported.

Both Russia and Ukraine have recruited thousands of foreign nationals into their armies since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine four and a half years ago.

An estimated 28,000 foreigners from 136 countries are said to be fighting in the Russian army, and officials believe Moscow deployed some 14,000 North Korean troops to battle Ukraine’s 2024 incursion into the Kursk region.

Meanwhile, Ukraine says 16,000 foreign nationals from more than 70 countries – including nearly 40 percent from Latin America – are currently serving in its army.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly last month, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia deceptively recruits people from 47 countries for an “absolutely brutal” campaign and urged countries not to let Moscow “drag” them into the war.

Amnesty International has also accused Russia of using “deceptive, coercive and exploitative practices” to recruit foreigners to fight on the Ukrainian front.

Russia has previously dismissed accusations of coercing foreigners into joining its army.

Amnesty says it cannot conduct inquiries about foreigners in Ukraine’s army as it has no access to prisoners of war held in Russia, which designates the rights group as a “foreign agent”.