We Bought You": How Workers Became Unwilling Soldiers

"Your agent sent you here. We bought you."

Those chilling words, delivered through a translation app by a Russian commander, shattered Maksudur Rahman's world. The 31-year-old Bangladeshi man had traveled thousands of miles from his tropical hometown, believing he'd secured a janitorial position in Russia. Instead, he found himself holding a rifle on Ukraine's front lines.

Rahman's story, revealed in a new Associated Press investigation, exposes a disturbing pattern: foreign workers lured to Russia under false pretenses, only to be coerced into military service. The scheme has ensnared men from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Kenya, South Africa, Jordan, and Iraq—transforming job seekers into unwilling soldiers.

The Deception Unfolds

The recruitment process follows a calculated script. Labor agents promise legitimate civilian work—janitors, electricians, laundry attendants—in Russia's vast economy. Workers arrive with proper visas and employment expectations, only to discover they've signed military contracts they couldn't read.

Mohan Miajee, an electrician, thought his technical skills would keep him safely behind the lines. A Russian army recruiter assured him he'd work in electronic warfare or drone units, not combat roles. "When he expressed his reluctance to kill, the recruiter said his skills as an electrician made him an ideal candidate," the investigation found.

The reality proved far different. Miajee was taken to a military camp in the captured Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, where a commander delivered the brutal truth: "You have been made to sign a contract to join the battalion. You cannot do any other work here. You have been deceived."

Workers who resisted faced severe consequences. Rahman described being kicked and beaten when he protested. Miajee was "beaten with shovels, handcuffed and tortured in a cramped basement cell" whenever he refused orders or made mistakes. Language barriers made compliance nearly impossible—"if they told us to go to the right and we went to the left, they would beat us severely."

Families Left in Anguish

Back home, families watch their loved ones disappear into Russia's war machine. Salma Akdar hasn't heard from her husband Ajgar Hussein since March 26. In their final conversation, the 40-year-old told her he'd been "sold to the Russian army."

Hussein had left in December 2024, believing he'd secured work as a laundry attendant. For two weeks, he maintained regular contact. Then came disturbing updates: weapons training, carrying 80-kilogram loads, preparation for combat. "Seeing all this, he cried a lot and told them, 'We cannot do these things. We have never done this before,'" his wife recalled.

His last message was an audio note: "Please pray for me."

When desperate families confronted the recruiting agent in their village, demanding answers, he dismissed their concerns. Military training was "standard procedure in Russia," he claimed, insisting even launderers required such preparation.

The Broader Pattern

This isn't isolated exploitation—it's systematic. The AP investigation found corroborating evidence including travel documents, Russian military contracts, medical reports, and battlefield photos. The paper trail reveals how legitimate work visas become military service contracts, how civilian workers become front-line soldiers.

The coerced workers perform dangerous tasks: advancing ahead of Russian forces, transporting supplies under fire, evacuating wounded soldiers, and recovering bodies from battlefields. These aren't support roles—they're combat operations with lethal consequences.

Neither Russian nor Bangladeshi authorities responded to questions about the scheme, leaving families to navigate bureaucratic silence while their loved ones remain trapped in a foreign war.