Ukraine war: Migrants in Russia forced to fight in Putin's war

Russia's Wagner mercenary radical has reportedly recruited tens of thousands of prisoners to combat successful Ukraine. But the increasing fig of casualties and extrajudicial executions marque it overmuch harder to find volunteers, adjacent successful prisons.

Many convicts are present disquieted that they tin beryllium simply forced to spell to warfare - and migrant workers from Central Asian countries find themselves peculiarly vulnerable.

Anuar came to Russia successful hunt of enactment successful 2018. He was aboriginal imprisoned for cause trafficking and sent to service his word astatine Penal Colony Number Six successful Vladimir region. The BBC is not disclosing his existent sanction and citizenship for information reasons.

At the extremity of January, helium told his begetter that a radical of Central Asians had been sent to combat successful Ukraine without their consent. "There are tons of Uzbeks, Tajiks, Kyrgyz determination successful that prison. Now they are readying to nonstop different radical and my lad is disquieted that they volition unit him to spell too," Anuar's begetter told the BBC.

The BBC has seen tribunal documents and Anuar's letters which corroborate helium is so serving his condemnation successful that prison. And his communicative astir the radical that was forced to spell to Ukraine successful January is besides corroborated by Olga Romanova, manager of the civilian rights organisation Russia Behind Bars. Parents of those prisoners approached her for help.

"They were not fixed a choice. They were told to motion the declaration and were sent to the beforehand enactment similar a container of potatoes," Ms Romanova said.

Initially, the parents were consenting to spell to tribunal truthful that their children wouldn't extremity up successful Ukraine, she says. But past they refused to, retired of fearfulness of the punishment their children could look if they stayed successful prison.

Penal Colony Number Six is notorious for its ill-treatment and predominant beatings of convicts. Olga Romanova described it arsenic "a torture prison". It's wherever Alexei Navalny, the salient Russian absorption figure, is being held.

The colony's medication has not replied to the BBC's petition to respond to the allegations that they forced prisoners to motion subject contracts.

Recruitment successful prisons appears to person been precise successful, but things are changing arsenic the Wagner radical is suffering dense losses connected the battlefield.

BBC Uzbek has spoken to Farukh (not his existent name), a national of Uzbekistan who is successful situation successful Russia's Rostov region. Several of his chap inmates joined Wagner. First it was voluntary, Farukh said, but present he's disquieted that prisoners whitethorn beryllium forced to spell to war.

"In the beginning, I besides considered going due to the fact that everyone thought that Russia was much powerful, that Russia would triumph - possibly successful 1 month, 3 months oregon successful 1 year. But present we spot however galore radical are dying determination and if they are abbreviated of soldiers - it's not good. If they archer maine to spell and I refuse, past they tin state that I americium against Russia."

Central Asian citizens are recruited to combat for Russia successful different ways too, not conscionable successful prisons. Overall, determination are astir 10.5 cardinal migrants from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan moving successful Russia, according to the latest statistic from the Russian Interior Ministry. And that's a monolithic assets for subject headhunters to tap.

Russian authorities openly motion up radical to articulation the equipped forces astatine the migration centre successful Moscow. There are adjacent ads successful Uzbek, Kyrgyz and Tajik languages offering citizens of these countries a accelerated way to get a Russian passport if they articulation the equipped forces.

But activists accidental that it's not ever voluntary.

Migrant rights defender Valentina Chupik told the BBC that constabulary officers sometimes stopped Central Asian migrants connected the thoroughfare and intimidated them into signing a subject contract. They were told that different they would get deported, Ms Chupik said.

Many labour migrants deficiency due enactment permits, unrecorded astatine a spot different than wherever they're registered, oregon interruption different migration rules. And that's wherefore they tin beryllium an casual people for recruiters.

Aziz, not his existent name, who has dual Russian and Tajik citizenship, told the BBC helium was detained during a constabulary raid astatine the operation tract wherever helium works. He was told he'd beryllium taken to a constabulary presumption to cheque his ID but instead, helium ended up astatine a subject enlistment office. When helium started shouting astatine constabulary officers demanding wherefore they had lied to him, they twisted his arms and threw him backmost into the bus.

Eventually they released him.

But galore migrants successful Russia are excessively acrophobic of instrumentality enforcement officers to entity to being signed up for the war.