Daniel Wolfram
A country far away from both Russia and Ukraine is trying to figure out how some of its citizens became entangled in joining the war.
Officials are investigating to confirm whether several workers were tricked into joining a foreign army.
Ukrainian intelligence raised the alarm last week.
The agency released scanned documents allegedly showing visa applications from eight men who enlisted to fight alongside Russian forces.
Shady offers to join the Russian military
According to Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, the Kremlin is actively looking abroad for cheap labor to support its war effort.
In a public statement, the agency noted that “Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country with a population of over 280 million, has joined the list of countries that the Kremlin has turned into yet another source of cheap manpower for the war.”
Intelligence officials added that similar recruitment schemes targeted citizens from Nepal, Cuba, Kenya, and India with promises of non-combat roles, lucrative pay, and fast-track Russian passports.
Human trafficking for deployment
Diplomats are now scrambling behind the scenes to find the recruits.
Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Yvonne Mewengkang confirmed that officials are cross-checking the claims with diplomatic missions and other government bodies.
She noted that “further confirmation is required regarding the individuals’ identities, citizenships, recruitment processes, and the nature of their involvement.”
Officials are looking closely at whether human traffickers lured the men through fraudulent online job postings. If the enlistments were voluntary, however, the consequences will be harsh. Under Indonesian law, any citizen who joins a foreign military risks having their citizenship revoked.
Playing both sides
Despite the growing investigation, the government is eager to keep its official diplomatic stance clear.
The spokeswoman also noted that official foreign policy does not align with these perceived personal actions of individual citizens, nor does it compromise the nation’s long-standing neutral position on the conflict.
However, Indonesia maintains strong economic ties with Russia, even though some military connections were strained after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Russian officials recently confirmed that Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will attend an economic forum in Russia in September, following a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
