A Moldovan citizen was recruited into the Russian military after being detained over his immigration status and was killed in Ukraine less than two months after signing his contract, according to Ukrainian military intelligence.
Victor Tabyrtsya received an administrative order in March declaring that he was staying in Russia illegally.
Authorities in Dankov, in western Russia’s Lipetsk region, fined him 5,000 rubles ($59) and initiated deportation proceedings.
His wife and daughter live in the nearby city of Lipetsk and are Russian citizens, according to the Ukrainian account.
Tabyrtsya was subsequently placed in a migrant detention facility, where he was reportedly given a choice between deportation and signing a contract with the Russian military.
He accepted the military contract despite being blind in one eye and was immediately sent to a training center.
Russian forces deployed him to Ukraine during the first half of May.
He was killed in the Kharkiv region in June, Ukrainian intelligence said, without providing details about the circumstances of his death.
According to I Want to Live, a Ukrainian government initiative providing surrender information to Russian service members, Moscow has recruited at least 857 Moldovan citizens for the war.
Of those, 81 have been confirmed killed and eight taken prisoner.
Migrants Targeted for Military Recruitment
Tabyrtsya’s case reflects a broader pattern in which Russia has recruited foreign nationals.
Some are drawn by financial incentives and promises of employment, education, residency or citizenship, while others face pressure linked to their immigration status.
A report by the Danish Institute for International Studies found that recruitment takes place both through online campaigns and among migrant workers already living in Russia.
Based on interviews with foreign nationals captured in Ukraine, researchers documented cases in which visa or registration problems, along with threats of imprisonment or deportation, were used to pressure migrants into signing military contracts.
Many recruits come from the Global South, including Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Researchers from the nonprofit organization INPACT identified recruitment networks involving travel agencies, online intermediaries, and existing recruits encouraged to enlist others.
According to INPACT, Russian recruitment networks target people seeking greater economic security or geographic mobility amid poverty, political instability, and recurring crises in their home countries.