Peruvian citizens signed contracts with the Russian military after receiving offers of work in Russia, and some ended up fighting against Ukraine despite what intermediaries had initially promised, according to their relatives. A joint investigation published on October 28 by Important Stories and the Peruvian outlet La Encerrona traces the recruits' routes into Russia, the intermediaries' activities, and documents from Russian military institutions.
The journalists examined families' appeals, documents concerning entry into Russia and recruitment for military service, and testimony from Peruvians who traveled there. One route led through Moscow airports to Ufa and Meleuz in the Russian republic of Bashkortostan. Among the records examined was a request sent to Russian border guards by Sergei Rodinko, head of the contract-recruitment office in Ufa. It indicates that the checkpoint had been informed in advance of the visitors' intended purpose. Rodinko told reporters he had never heard of the documents.
Citing Peru's Foreign Ministry, the investigators reported that more than 450 Peruvian nationals had joined the Russian armed forces. One lawyer estimated that the number could exceed 1,000, but that figure is neither an official statistic nor confirmation of the actual total.
Two suspected recruiters have been detained in Peru. According to local prosecutors, one had promised fellow Peruvians security work that would not involve deployment to the front. Relatives of several recruits said they had lost contact with family members and that the conditions of service differed from those promised. Those accounts concern specific individuals; they do not establish that every Peruvian recruit was deceived.
Russia’s embassy in Peru previously rejected allegations of deceptive recruitment, saying that foreign nationals who signed military contracts understood the terms of service and the risks involved.