Kyrgyz Journalist Calls on Central Asian Governments to Stop Russia's War Recruitment Machine

An investigative journalist from Kyrgyzstan has demanded Central Asian governments finally address Russia's mass recruitment of their citizens for the war against Ukraine, warning that tens of thousands have been lured into a deadly trap.

Adil Turdukulov, speaking at the plenary session of the OSCE Human Dimension Conference in Warsaw, laid out the scope of the problem: "In our countries, families often don't even know where their sons are or whether they're alive... Today we need not just sympathy, but solidarity and action."

The journalist-human rights defender noted that he and his colleagues have already done significant work documenting the issue - interviewing prisoners of war on Ukrainian territory and working with Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for POW Affairs, which he confirmed adheres to Geneva Conventions standards.

Turdukulov pinpointed the root causes: Russian propaganda, Moscow's economic pressure, and the passive stance of regional governments that have allowed this exploitation to flourish. He urged Central Asian authorities to publicly respond to Russia's recruitment of their citizens, protect them, and conduct awareness campaigns.

The "I Want to Live" project backing Turdukulov's call highlighted that Russia dramatically accelerated foreign recruitment into the russian armed forces in 2025. Citizens of Central Asian countries have been particularly targeted - the project has documented 7,526 confirmed cases of individuals lured by promises of profitable jobs in russia and Russian citizenship, only to be enslaved in the army and sent to certain death.

Mass participation of citizens from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and other Central Asian nations in this war not only damages relations with Ukraine but undermines the neutral status of the entire region and risks dragging it into the conflict, Turdukulov warned. In today's globalized world, such involvement cannot pass without consequences - even for countries thousands of kilometers from the combat zone.

The project encourages affected individuals to contact Ukrainian authorities through their hotline and messaging services to explore options for surrender and survival rather than fighting in russia's war of aggression.

Video of Turdukulov's speech at the session: