Foreign nationals recruited into the Russian military described being unable to terminate their contracts, facing threats and struggling after fleeing their units. In a November 3 report, The Moscow Times published original interviews with servicemen and activists and said it had examined documents provided by one interviewee.
A 24-year-old man from Pakistan using the pseudonym “Peter” arrived in Krasnodar in 2020 to study medicine. When his family could no longer afford tuition, an acquaintance offered him what he understood to be a one-year Russian army contract, promising a job in a medical facility, citizenship and the chance to continue his education, Peter said. Instead, he was sent to the front in the occupied part of Donetsk region. The newsroom examined his contract, medical records and photographs; the circumstances of his recruitment remain his own account.
Peter said he suffered severe leg injuries in an explosion in the autumn of 2024 and underwent eight operations. After treatment, his commanders demanded that he return to combat duties. When his year-long contract expired, he asked to be discharged, but one commander allegedly demanded about 400,000 rubles. The demand has not been corroborated beyond Peter's account.
With help from the antiwar project Go by the Forest (Idite Lesom), Peter said he left his unit and fled Russia. He is now in another country, working in retail while trying to resolve problems with his documents and medical treatment.
Ivan Chuvilyaev, a representative of Go by the Forest, said the group had received around 30–40 requests for help from foreign servicemen, approximately a quarter of them in August.