Published: March 5, 2026, 01:14 AM
Human rights groups say over 100 Bangladeshis were trafficked into Russia’s war against Ukraine, with at least 34 confirmed dead, after being misled with promises of overseas jobs.
More than 100 Bangladeshis have been recruited into Russia’s war against Ukraine, and dozens have been killed on the front lines, according to rights groups, which say many of the men were misled, exploited or financially trapped before being sent into combat.
The findings were presented at a press briefing on the trafficking of Bangladeshi men into the war, held at 10:30am on Tuesday at Drik Gallery, Panthapath by human rights organisations Fortify Rights and Truth Hounds.
Speaking after the event, John Quinley told the Dhaka Tribune that Bangladeshi men are being trafficked into the war.
In a joint report released on Tuesday, the two organisations urged the Government of Bangladesh to urgently dismantle and prosecute trafficking networks recruiting Bangladeshi men into Russia’s war against Ukraine, and to provide meaningful support and reparations to survivors and the families of those killed.
Quinley, director of Bangkok-based Fortify Rights, and Oksana Pokalchuk, co-executive director of Ukraine-based Truth Hounds, disclosed the findings of the joint investigation.
The 62-page report states that Bangladeshi men were forced to take part in the war through coercion and abuse. Several victims told investigators that they had been asked to sign documents written in Russian for supposed overseas jobs. Without understanding the contents, they signed the papers and later learned that they had been sent to work in a war zone.
The report is based on interviews with 24 people in Bangladesh and Ukraine, including survivors, families of those who died, and prisoners of war from Sri Lanka and Nepal.
According to the findings, at least 104 Bangladeshis were identified as having been recruited, with at least 34 confirmed dead based on Ukrainian information. Researchers said the actual number of casualties is likely higher and referred to “dozens” killed.
Quinley said Bangladeshi men have been deceived and trafficked into Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, adding that the scale of abuse is likely far greater than what the investigation was able to document and that urgent international action is needed.
Pokalchuk said Russia is exploiting people in vulnerable situations to sustain its war effort, shifting the human cost of its aggression beyond its own borders. She said this was not simply recruitment for war, but exploitation in its most extreme form.
