Thousands of migrants detained in Russia to recruit “volunteers” for war

3 January, 2024 Migrants in Russia. Photo credits: EPA-EFE / ANATOLY MALTSEV On New Year's Eve, St.

Petersburg police detained thousands of migrants to recruit "volunteers" for the war. Novaya Gazeta Europe has learned that the detentions are part of a plan developed three months ago. According to this plan, migrants are to be recruited to replenish the Russian army for the war with Ukraine.

A source at Center E (the Centre for Combating Extremism) disclosed that in August 2023, a meeting on migrant affairs was held. The representatives of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation attended this meeting. "The chief said that St.

Petersburg received an order to recruit seven thousand volunteers. But the military doubted that they would get that many. And then they got a gift in the form of new Russian citizens.

Or even not citizens yet, but those who can be forced into signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense," the source shared.

Migrants in Russia. Photo credits: fontanka.ru

He said that the "hunt" for migrants at their places of residence was deemed "inappropriate." Therefore, it was decided to conduct a massive raid on New Year's Eve. "They say that all men would be with their families on the holiday.

And to prevent them from escaping, the districts were also surrounded," the source reported. On the night of January 1, most migrants were detained on the street when they were setting off fireworks or just walking. According to the publication, more than three thousand people, including women and children, were taken to police stations that night.

The detained men were distributed to pre-trial detention cells in the departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Rashid T., a native of Uzbekistan, said that in the morning, most of the detainees were visited by the military, who "strongly recommended" them to volunteer for the army.

Migrants in Russia. Photo credits: EPA-EFE / ANATOLY MALTSEV

Those who did not have Russian citizenship were offered a simplified procedure to obtain it.

If people refused, the security forces threatened to expel their families from Russia.

Protocols were drawn up against those who had neither family nor citizenship and sent to the court, which decided on their expulsion from Russia.

The source stated that at least 1,500 men detained on New Year's Eve had already signed contracts with the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation.