Peru probes alleged trafficking of citizens to fight for Russia

In this photo taken on October 30, 2024, Ukrainian soldiers are seen installing obstacles along the frontline in the Donetsk region, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Russia has been recruiting men from other countries to fight in its war against its neighbor. (AFP file photo)

• Individuals were allegedly recruited through social media with deceptive offers of well-paid work as security agents
• 13 of around 600 Peruvians lured to Russia since October have died in the war, according to a lawyer of the victims

LIMA: Public prosecutors in Peru said they were investigating an alleged trafficking network offering fake jobs in Russia to Peruvians, before forcing them to fight in Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
Individuals, including former military personnel and police officers, were allegedly recruited through social media with deceptive offers of well-paid work as security agents and other jobs in Russia, the attorney general’s office said in a statement.
According to information provided to the police, “victims were reportedly taken to Russia and, once on foreign soil, forced to take part in combat operations in the context of the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” it said.
The prosecutor immediately initiated an investigation into the alleged crimes of “human trafficking” and “aggravated human trafficking,” it added.
Thirteen Peruvians have died in the Russia-Ukraine war, a lawyer for the victims’ families, Percy Salinas, told TV channel N.
Promised monthly salaries of between $2,000 and $3,000 had lured around 600 Peruvians to Russia since October, according to Salinas.
The Peruvian foreign ministry said it had asked the Russian embassy to provide information about the whereabouts of Peruvians who had “decided to render services in the armed forces” of Russia.
In a statement released Thursday, Moscow’s embassy in Lima acknowledged that Peruvians had signed contracts to join the Russian armed forces.
But the embassy said the concerned individuals did so voluntarily and legally.
Recruitment through social media with deceptive offers of well-paid work as security agents and other jobs in Russia, the attorney general’s office said in a statement.