First captured Indonesian who served as Ukrainian and Russian mercenary

The British daily Guardian reported on the 11th (local time) that Ukraine has captured an Indonesian soldier who fought on the Russian side for the first time as Russia is expanding its recruitment of foreign fighters to participate in the Ukrainian war in Southeast Asia.

According to reports, the 49-year-old man from Java, Indonesia, was sent to Zaporozhye Oblast in southern Ukraine to participate in Russian offensive operations.

However, after his unit was attacked by a Ukrainian drone, the man moved to an area controlled by the Ukrainian military and was captured by the Ukrainian military.

According to the 'I Want to Live' anti-war movement project, which urges the Ukrainian government to surrender to Russian soldiers who participated in the war, Russia recruited 283 Indonesians to participate in the Ukrainian war from January to September this year.

This is a sharp increase compared to just 10 people over the three years from 2023 to 2025.

The Indonesian government urged the Russian government not to recruit its citizens as mercenaries after reports emerged last month that a citizen serving in the Russian military had died.

A spokesperson for Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed concern that the recruitment could amount to human trafficking.

Indonesian police recently uncovered a human trafficking ring targeting its citizens.

The organization sought applicants through social media and messaging apps for well-paying jobs in Russia in logistics, border security and defense-related construction.

But applicants who went to Russia were forced to sign contracts stipulating they would serve as mercenaries, and some were deployed to conflict zones.

The Russian Embassy in Indonesia did not make a separate statement regarding the suspicion of recruiting mercenaries.

As five years have passed since the Ukraine War broke out, Russian casualties have increased significantly.

According to data obtained by the Belarusian anti-government hacker group 'Cyberpartisans BY' and the Ukrainian hacker group 'Silent Crow' by hacking the Russian Federal Statistical Office this month, it was revealed that more than 400,000 Russian soldiers were killed from February 24, 2022, the date of the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, to the end of August this year.

As Russia faces difficulties in mobilizing domestic troops, it is making efforts to recruit foreign fighters from underdeveloped countries such as Southeast Asia and Africa.

It is known that Russia is recruiting foreign fighters by posting false advertisements on social media and offering jobs.

Kenyan intelligence officials said in February that more than 1,000 Kenyans had been lured into fighting on Russia's side.