UK sanctions Russian networks recruiting vulnerable migrants to fight in Ukraine
Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said the practice of “exploiting vulnerable people” was “barbaric”
Britain has announced a raft of new sanctions aimed at Russian networks trafficking people from Africa and the Middle East to fight in Ukraine.
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The 35 new sanctions imposed on Tuesday target networks accused of tricking people from countries such as Nigeria, Syria and Yemen, promising them a better life before sending them to the front line.
Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said the practice of “exploiting vulnerable people” was “barbaric” and accused Russia of trafficking people to use as “cannon fodder”.
Last week, a report published by the International Federation for Human Rights said Russia had recruited at least 27,000 foreign fighters since 2022 through a “global recruitment system that deliberately targets the most vulnerable populations”, with many lured to Europe with the promise of well-paid civilian jobs.
The report estimated a fifth of those recruited did not survive their first four months of deployment, with many poorly trained and ill-treated by their commanders.
Those sanctioned on Tuesday include Polina Azarnykh, a former teacher said to have recruited people from Africa and the Middle East to fight in Ukraine, and Elena Smirnova, accused of using deception to recruit Cubans along with Cuban national Dayana Echemendia Diaz.
Two men, Sergei Merzlyakov and Abid Kalid Sharif Abid – who holds Syrian and Iraqi nationality – are said to have helped traffic people from the Middle East and Bangladesh both to fight in Ukraine and to “destabilise” Finland and Poland.
Several companies and individuals have also been sanctioned for recruiting Indian nationals through offers of student visas or jobs in Russia’s security sector.
They include Indian nationals Faisal Khan, Deepak Pandey, Manjeet Singh, Rakesh Pandey and Mohammad Daragur, along with companies Baba Vlogs Overseas Recruitment Solutions, OSD Bros Travels and Visa Services and Adventure Visa Services.
As well as trafficking people to fight on the front line, Russia has lured people from Africa and Asia to work in its drone factories, including through a scheme called the Alabuga Start Programme.
The programme, also the target of sanctions on Tuesday, recruits people from “economically insecure backgrounds” to work in weapons factories in Tatarstan, around 500 miles east of Moscow.
Those sanctioned for their role in the Alabuga Start Programme include Cameroonian national Michel Ateba and his company, Enangue Holding.
Others involved in Russia’s drone industry have also been sanctioned, including Pavel Nikitin, whose company builds the VT-40 attack drone that has been used extensively by Moscow, along with Chinese company M9 Logistics and Thai businesses Canopus Trading, Tanaq and Sea 2 Sky.