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

Twenty Bangladeshi victims have been killed after being used by Russia as ‘bait’ to locate enemy positions, police say.

A view of the damaged centre of the front-line town of Druzhkivka, Ukraine [File: Iryna Rybakova/Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP Photo]

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.

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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”.

警方称，20名孟加拉国人被俄罗斯用作“诱饵”，以定位敌方阵地，随后被杀害。

乌克兰前线城镇德鲁日基夫卡受损中心景象 [图片：Iryna Rybakova/乌克兰第93机械化旅，美联社照片]

孟加拉国警方逮捕了两名据称与人口贩运网络有关的人员，该网络以欺骗手段招募当地人到乌克兰为俄罗斯作战。

周三，精锐警察部队特种反应营指挥官穆罕默德·阿萨杜扎曼表示，嫌疑人米扎努尔·拉赫曼和阿布·塔赫尔以高薪工作的虚假承诺，将至少 30 人贩运到俄罗斯。

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他说，受害者出国后，他们的护照和手机被没收，并移交给了俄罗斯军方。

阿萨杜扎曼表示，17名人口贩运受害者于5月初抵达俄罗斯，在接受极少培训后，于部署的第一天就被杀害。目前已确认共有20名孟加拉国人死亡。

他说：“孟加拉国人被用作诱饵来定位敌方阵地。在孟加拉国人遭到无人机袭击后，俄罗斯军队确定了下一步行动方案。”

警方援引一名受伤后设法返回家乡的幸存者的话说，除了20名遇难的孟加拉国人外，还有两人在莫斯科一家医院接受治疗，另有6人仍在战场上。

据孟加拉国媒体报道，受害者均来自贫困家庭，他们为了获得虚假工作机会来到俄罗斯，支付了约 8000 美元。

自俄罗斯四年半前入侵乌克兰以来，俄罗斯和乌克兰都已招募了数千名外国公民加入其军队。

据称，约有来自 136 个国家的 28,000 名外国人在俄罗斯军队中作战，官员们认为莫斯科部署了约 14,000 名朝鲜士兵，以对抗乌克兰在 2024 年入侵库尔斯克地区的行动。

与此同时，乌克兰表示，目前有来自 70 多个国家的 16000 名外国公民（其中近 40% 来自拉丁美洲）正在乌克兰军队服役。

乌克兰总统泽连斯基上个月在联合国大会上发表讲话时警告说，俄罗斯以欺骗手段从 47 个国家招募人员参与一场“极其残酷”的战争，并敦促各国不要让莫斯科“拖”他们卷入战争。

国际特赦组织还指责俄罗斯使用“欺骗、胁迫和剥削手段”招募外国人到乌克兰前线作战。

俄罗斯此前曾否认强迫外国人加入其军队的指控。

大赦国际表示，由于无法接触被关押在俄罗斯的战俘，因此无法对乌克兰军队中的外国人进行调查。俄罗斯将该人权组织认定为“外国代理人”。