Russia sends 20,000 recently naturalized citizens to fight in Ukraine, top official says
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Russian law enforcement agencies have sent 20,000 naturalized migrants to fight in Ukraine for failing to register for military service, Investigative Committee Head Alexander Bastrykin said on May 20, according to state-owned TASS.
The revelation signals an intensifying crackdown on Russia's migrant population as the Kremlin struggles to meet front line manpower needs.
"Already 20,000 'young' citizens of Russia, who for some reason do not like living in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, are on the front lines," Bastrykin said during the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum.
He said he had ordered military investigators, police, and Russia's National Guard to conduct regular raids on areas where migrants live to catch those evading military registration.
Bastrykin earlier claimed many foreigners had begun "slowly" leaving Russia to avoid conscription and described the forced deployment of naturalized citizens as a "trick" to target migrants while fulfilling constitutional requirements.
The statement comes as Russian forces continue monthly recruitment drives of 30,000 to 40,000 people, according to Western intelligence cited by the Wall Street Journal.
With the memory of the unpopular 2022 partial mobilization still fresh — when more than 261,000 Russians fled the country — the Kremlin has avoided another mass draft.
Instead, it has turned to aggressive enlistment campaigns and financial incentives.
On March 31, Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized the spring conscription of 160,000 men — the country's largest call-up in 14 years.
Although conscripts are technically barred from front-line combat, rights groups and relatives have reported that many are pressured into signing contracts that result in deployment to Ukraine.
In the summer of 2024, Russian lawmakers passed legislation allowing authorities to revoke the citizenship of naturalized individuals who fail to register for military service.
