A new report by Amnesty International has revealed how Russia is exploiting vulnerable migrants, refugees and foreign prisoners by using their precarious legal circumstances to recruit them into the military to fight in Ukraine.
The report shows that migrants whose visas had expired, people facing immigration complications, refugees and foreigners detained for minor offences were particularly vulnerable to recruitment into the Russian military.
The report titled Russia: Trafficking of Foreign Nationals to Fight in Ukraine say that Russian authorities and recruitment agencies have been using deceptive, coercive and exploitative practices to enlist foreigners and send them to fight in Ukraine.
The report says some were lured with promises of civilian jobs, high salaries, legal status or Russian citizenship, while others were offered military contracts as an alternative to detention, deportation or unresolved immigration problems, only to be deployed to the frontline.
Amnesty International reported that Russian forces target migrants and refugees already present in Russia whose residence permits have expired, or are facing financial difficulties or harassment by law enforcement agencies forcing them to sign military contracts as an “effective remedy” or face penalties including detention and deportation.
“By that point, they would have heavily invested, financially and otherwise, into the prospect of earning a better living in Russia than in their home country and not yet recovered their losses,” reads the report.
“The cost of visa and travel to Russia, recruitment agents’ and other intermediaries’ fees and other related expenses, and the threat of a hefty fine for overstaying their Russian visa followed by deportation, meant they were particularly vulnerable to abusive recruitment practices,” says Amnesty International.
Two Egyptian students, for example, had been detained over minor drug-related offences and were threatened with lengthy prison terms before being offered military service as an alternative.
One of the men told Amnesty he did not initially understand what joining the Russian Armed Forces meant. A Cuban national identified as Ruben gave another account of how detention and the threat of deportation could be used as leverage.
“They stated that the offer was conveyed by an “official” who had access to those in police custody. One of these Egyptians stated that he had not realized what joining the Armed Forces would entail,” the report reads.
Ruben had been sentenced to six years in prison for drug possession and faced deportation to Cuba after serving his sentence.
In 2025, he and other foreign prisoners were offered military contracts instead of completing their prison terms, with promises of Russian citizenship, a signing bonus and a monthly salary.
“I signed the contract because I did not want to be deported back to Cuba,” Ruben told Amnesty adding that four Cubans agreed to sign.
Ruben was subsequently taken to a military training ground and deployed to the front line towards the end of 2025. He was wounded twice before being captured by Ukrainian forces in January 2026.
The report also details the case of a Central African refugee identified as Daniel, who had fled persecution in his home country and received temporary protection in Russia.
Daniel said the extension of his protection status was refused because he declined to sign a contract with the Russian Armed Forces. He was later arrested after an unsuccessful appeal.
While in detention, he told Amnesty that refugees, particularly Africans, were being pressured to join the military as a condition for “legalizing” their stay in Russia.
After 70 days in detention, he said military personnel visited the detention centre and asked him and other detainees whether they were willing to sign military contracts.
Amnesty said a legal specialist who works with refugees and migrants confirmed that foreigners in similar circumstances had been offered a fast-track route to Russian citizenship if they joined the armed forces.
“The instrumentalization of irregular status of foreign nationals who overstayed work-related visas, and of the precarious situation of legal offenders in Russia for military recruitment, is not the only situation of vulnerability of foreign nationals exploited by recruiters to enlist them to join the Russian military forces. Refugees are equally exposed to predatory recruitment,” Amnesty reports.
The findings are based partly on interviews with prisoners of war captured by Ukrainian forces and placed in two Prisoners of War camps in western Ukraine between 2024 and 2026.
Among dozens of prisoners interviewed were 15 third-country nationals from Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Somalia and South Africa.
Amnesty International reported that official data shared with Ukrainian media by Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters show that at least 28,391 foreign nationals from 136 countries were recruited as members of the Russian Armed Forces by April 2026.
“Russia has recruited thousands of foreign nationals from low-income countries, as well as migrants and refugees already living in Russia,” Amnesty says, adding that recruitment has frequently involved deceptive, coercive and exploitative practices.
Several interviewees reported having their passports and mobile phones confiscated and being prevented from leaving military facilities. Others said they were transported under tight control and threatened when they attempted to escape.
A Brazilian IT professional identified as Pedro said he asked his commander to leave but the commander threatened, “If you try to escape, you will either go to jail or we will kill you.”
Most foreign recruits interviewed by Amnesty were reportedly given only about two weeks of military training before being sent into active combat. Many described inadequate preparation, insufficient equipment and difficulties communicating with commanders because of language barriers.
“Pre-deployment training periods were consistently described as extremely short, typically around two weeks, after which individuals were deployed to active combat zones. Many reported insufficient preparation, lack of equipment, and limited communication with commanders due to language barriers,” said Amnesty.
“The minimal military training offered prior to deployment to the front line indicates that the recruitment of such individuals appears driven by the desire to increase the sheer numbers of
Russia’s front line forces, and little or no concern about their quality and combat readiness, nor their effective integration into the forces,” the report reads further.
Amnesty says the pattern raises serious concerns that Russia’s recruitment of foreigners amounts to human trafficking, particularly where deception, coercion or abuse of vulnerability is used.
The organisation’s research involved interviews with foreign nationals from Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Somalia and South Africa, including prisoners of war held in Ukraine.
Of 15 third-country nationals interviewed in Ukrainian Prisoners of War camps, only three said they knowingly signed military contracts and understood they would be deployed to the war zone.
Seven said they had been promised civilian jobs, while six described recruitment circumstances that Amnesty said undermined its voluntary nature.
The report says the recruitment networks extend beyond Russia, with foreigners in economically vulnerable communities allegedly targeted through misleading online job advertisements and intermediaries.
Amnesty called on Russia to immediately end all reported abusive practices that involve the recruitment of foreign nationals for its military forces and their treatment in training centres and at the front line.
