At least 14 Filipinos allegedly recruited by Russia for Ukraine conflict

According to Munira Mustaffa, executive director of Chasseur Group and senior fellow at Verve Research, at least 14 Filipinos have been illegally recruited by Russian forces to fight in Ukraine, based on data from the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Among them, one person is reported to have been killed and another is being held as a prisoner of war, though the fatality remains unconfirmed.

Mustaffa explained that the recruits are forced to sign contracts with the Russian armed forces, distinguishing them from traditional mercenaries. The recruitment process reportedly relies on social-media messaging, fabricated job advertisements, and bogus brokers that hide their Russian base behind locations like Kazakhstan. Over 20 Filipinos who were repatriated after months of detention in Russia last June also alleged illegal recruitment, many having worked as cleaners before being taken to Russia.

The Philippine Department of Migrant Workers said it will probe these allegations of human trafficking. Russia, for its part, maintains that the detained Filipinos were undocumented.