Bangladeshis Promised Work in Russia Describe Forced Combat and Deaths in Ukraine

Razan Hossain left Bangladesh expecting a construction job in Russia that would help support his family and his ill father. Instead, the 22-year-old told RFE/RL, he was armed and sent toward the front lines of Russia’s war against Ukraine with almost no training. He returned home in late August with severe leg injuries and now needs crutches to walk.

Hossain, a high-school graduate from Jhenaidah district, said recruiting agency Jabale Noor offered him work paying 75,000 rubles, approximately $930, a month. His family sold land to cover about 1 million taka, roughly $8,000, in visa and travel costs. He flew from Dhaka with 30 other Bangladeshis on May 7. After landing in Moscow, he said, they were immediately transported to a war zone hundreds of kilometers away.

Although his documents were for employment as an electrician’s helper, Hossain said he was forced into combat. He described seeing 20 fellow Bangladeshis killed in drone strikes. Wounded in a drone attack on June 14, he said his commander refused hospital treatment and provided only basic first aid. He also alleged beatings and food deprivation when he sought proper care. A sympathetic doctor and Bangladesh’s embassy in Moscow eventually helped him return home.

His account reflects allegations from other Bangladeshis and their families interviewed by RFE/RL. A United Nations report published in October said men from 29 countries had been recruited into Russia’s armed forces through an international network of agents. It described deception, fraudulent civilian job offers and trafficking. Russian authorities deny unlawful or deceptive recruitment, maintaining that foreign nationals serve voluntarily under formal military contracts.

Amnesty International said interviews at two Ukrainian prisoner of war camps between 2024 and 2026 identified recruits from countries including Brazil, Egypt, Sri Lanka and South Africa. The organization described economically vulnerable men being drawn in by false employment promises, signing documents they sometimes could not understand, and facing restrictions and threats after enlistment. A decree signed by President Vladimir Putin in May 2023 simplified access to Russian citizenship for foreigners signing military service contracts.

Bangladesh’s overseas employment records show 7,449 people received clearance to work in Russia between January 1, 2025, and October 27, 2026. An investigation by Fortify Rights and Truth Hounds in March indicated that at least 104 Bangladeshis had been recruited into Russia’s military and at least 34 had died. The NGO BRAC has urged Bangladesh’s government to establish how many citizens remain in Russia, how many are fighting and how many are alive.

Bangladeshi authorities say they are investigating and have confirmed that at least 17 men who reached Russia in early May died on their first day of deployment. In October, authorities arrested two men suspected of trafficking at least 30 Bangladeshis through promises of lucrative jobs. Two Kyrgyz-Russian suspects remain sought. No charges have been filed against the three recruiting companies identified in the investigation.

Families also describe uncertainty about relatives still abroad. Asif Faijay Nayan’s family said an offer to study medicine in Moscow required him first to serve four months in the war. His mother, Firdaus Nigar, said regular contact stopped around the scheduled October 15 end of his service. Messages from others saying he was safe or hospitalized have not eased her concern.

Other relatives are seeking the return of bodies. Firoza Khatun said her son Yasin traveled to Russia for company work in September 2024, then reported three months later that he was heading to the front. After their final conversation on March 25, 2025, colleagues told her he died on March 27. She said his body remains in Russia, while the family wants to bring him home for burial.