Spanish
The war in Ukraine continues to add dark chapters. One of the most recent features thousands of migrants from Central Asia who, according to reports from human rights organizations, are being forced to fight on the Russian front under threats, deception, and extreme conditions.
The life expectancy for many of them, they claim, does not exceed four months.
That is the case of Hushruzjon Salohidinov, a 26-year-old Tajik man who until recently worked as a delivery person in St. Petersburg. His story, reconstructed in an interview with Al Jazeera, bluntly exposes the mechanism of pressure that, according to various sources, is repeated throughout the country.Salohidinov says he was arrested while picking up a package that, according to the police, contained stolen money. He denies any connection to the crime, but spent nine months in prison without his case progressing. What came after, he says, was even worse: threats of sexual abuse inside the prison if he did not agree to "volunteer" to go to war.
Error en el proceso de traducción Error en el proceso de traducción Error en el proceso de traducción The pattern repeats itself: arrests for alleged immigration irregularities, threats of deportation or jail, and finally the option of enlisting as the only way out. In some cases, torture or deception is even reported to make them sign military contracts. Error en el proceso de traducción The context also helps explain the phenomenon. Russia, with a low birth rate and an economy that partly depends on foreign labor, has historically been a destination for millions of migrants. But since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, in 2022, that population became an easy target to reinforce the ranks of the army. Even Russian officials indirectly admit it. In 2025, the head of the Investigative Committee assured that tens of thousands of citizens — many of them recently naturalized migrants — were sent to the front. After signing, Salohidinov received barely three weeks of training. He describes a chaotic preparation, with deficient equipment and financial demands to obtain better supplies. Then he was sent to the Luhansk region, in eastern Ukraine. Error en el proceso de traducciónAt that moment, he decided to give up.
"We ran and saw that they were shooting at us. With my commander, we chose to surrender rather than die in vain," he said. The experience as a prisoner, he says, was completely different from what he had been warned: he received food, water, and basic care. Today, detained in Ukraine, he claims he even feels relief. “I am glad to have been captured. I am no longer fighting or risking my life,” he stated. His biggest fear now is being returned to Russia in a prisoner exchange, which he believes would mean going straight back to the front. Meanwhile, he hopes to be able to return to his country. But his future is uncertain. And his story, far from being exceptional, seems to be just a sample of a much broader and silent machinery that fuels the war with the most vulnerable.
