Russia is systematically deceiving and coercing foreign nationals into fighting in Ukraine through methods that constitute human trafficking under international law, Amnesty International said in a report published Thursday. The London-based rights organisation, drawing on interviews with prisoners of war held in Ukrainian captivity from more than a dozen countries, found that recruiters acting on behalf of Russia used fake job offers, document confiscation, blackmail and threats of deportation to force migrants into signing military contracts.

The recruitment schemes operate in two stages. Outside Russia, the most common method involves fraudulent civilian job advertisements — in logistics, warehousing or construction — offering salaries of around $2,000 a month. Some advertisements falsely present Russia as a transit country to the European Union. Victims who arrive find their passports confiscated. Others sign what they believe is a civilian employment contract, only to discover they have committed to service in Russia's Defence Ministry. Inside Russia, the focus shifts to coercion: labour migrants with irregular immigration status are detained and offered a stark choice between immediate deportation — which for many means poverty or danger at home — or enlistment. Amnesty documented cases involving citizens of Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Somalia and South Africa. One widely reported case is that of Kenyan long-distance runner Evans Kibet, who travelled to Russia for a sporting event, was offered a civilian job, had his documents confiscated, and was sent to the front in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region before surrendering to Ukrainian forces in July 2025.

Amnesty International said these practices meet the threshold of the UN Palermo Protocol — the primary international legal instrument defining human trafficking, ratified by 178 states including Russia — because they involve the recruitment of people through deception and coercion for the purpose of exploitation.