Amnesty accuses Russia of trafficking foreigners to fight in Ukraine

A new report by Amnesty International has accused Russia of tricking foreigners into fighting on Ukraine’s front lines in what amounts to “human trafficking”.

Victims from Brazil, Colombia, Sri Lanka and South Africa were duped into travelling to Russia to take up well-paid civilian or non-combat jobs, then forced to join the Russian army on arrival, according to the report released on Thursday.

Russian recruiters also targeted migrants and refugees in Russia and coerced them into joining the military, the report said.

“Amnesty’s research demonstrates how Russia’s Armed Forces are bolstering their ranks with economically vulnerable foreign nationals and using them as cannon fodder in the war of aggression against Ukraine,” said Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary general.

“The level of exploitation and coercion involved led us to conclude that in many cases this amounts to human trafficking, as defined under the [United Nations] Palermo Protocol,” Callamard added.

Amnesty International interviewed prisoners of war at two Ukrainian camps between 2024 and 2026.

The rights group also spoke with foreign nationals currently serving with Russian forces and members of their families as well as lawyers, human rights activists and journalists.

It found local agents and misleading online job advertisements were used to deceive foreign nationals in their home countries.