Jobs, travel offers allegedly led 14 Filipinos to Russia’s military

National

BEHIND the promise of jobs and overseas opportunities, at least 14 Filipinos were reportedly recruited into Russia’s military, with one allegedly killed and another now a prisoner of war, an international expert said.

Munira Mustaffa, executive director of Chasseur Group and senior fellow at Verve Research, cited data from the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War in identifying the reported number of Filipinos recruited.

Mustaffa said there may be another Filipino casualty, although this has yet to be confirmed. She did not disclose further details about the reported victims.

The Filipinos were among foreign nationals from South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia who were being illegally recruited or trafficked into the Russian military, according to the European External Action Service (EEAS).

During an online discussion with international experts on Russia’s recruitment of foreign nationals, Mustaffa explained that the recruits should not necessarily be considered mercenaries in the traditional sense because they were being required to sign contracts to formally join the Russian armed forces. Although they were foreign nationals, they were serving within the Russian military rather than operating independently of it.

“These kinds of combatants were being forced to sign contracts to join the Russian armed forces. So, that meant that they’re not really mercenaries in the classic sense because although they’re non-nationals of Russia, they’re being asked to actually join the Russian forces, so they’re not operating outside of those forces,” she said, as quoted

by the Inquirer.

Experts from Asian countries took part in the discussion, which examined how foreign nationals are recruited to fight with the Russian military through alleged deception and coercion, as well as exploitation and possible human trafficking.

According to Mustaffa, Russian recruiters have used social media to send messages and post misleading advertisements offering jobs or travel opportunities abroad. Some recruits were allegedly tricked into traveling to Russia after responding to such offers.

She also said fake brokers and contractors were being used to pose as legitimate recruiters. Recruitment efforts could involve online messaging platforms, social media, WhatsApp and websites that did not openly identify Russia as their base. According to Mustaffa, some websites instead indicated that they were based in countries such as Kazakhstan or elsewhere outside Russia, which she said could provide possible deniability.

The allegations come after more than 20 Filipinos were repatriated in June after being detained in Russia for nine months. They claimed they had been victims of illegal recruitment. Some had previously worked as cleaners, while others had come from other countries before being brought to Russia.

Russia, however, maintained that the Filipinos who were arrested were undocumented.

Following the incident, the Department of Migrant Workers said it would investigate the allegations of illegal recruitment and human trafficking.(MyTVCebu)