Bangladeshi workers forced into Russian military service after civilian job deception

At least eighteen Bangladeshi nationals have been forcibly conscripted into the Russian military after arriving in the country on what they believed were legitimate civilian work visas, according to documentation reviewed by Crisis.zone. Maksudur Rahman was promised construction work with a monthly salary of 80,000 rubles. Instead, he found himself on the front lines in Ukraine, his passport confiscated, after being coerced into signing military contracts written in Russian—a language he does not speak.

This is not an isolated incident but evidence of a systematic trafficking operation that treats economically vulnerable populations as expendable military resources. Russian authorities issued a 232% surge in work permits for Bangladeshi nationals in 2025 compared to previous periods, suggesting an expanding pipeline that deliberately targets desperate workers from Global South nations to address manpower shortages created by the Ukraine war. The human cost is already mounting: Kabir, another Bangladeshi worker, was killed by a drone strike while deployed in a combat zone he never chose to enter.

The deception mechanism

The trafficking network operates through agencies like Dream Home Travels, which advertised positions in logistics, construction, and factory work across Russian social media and job platforms. Workers were provided apparently legitimate documentation—valid work visas, employment contracts specifying civilian roles, and assurances of legal protection. Upon arrival at Moscow's airports, however, a coordinated system of coercion immediately activated.

Passports were confiscated by handlers who met workers directly at immigration checkpoints. Victims report being transported to military facilities where they were presented with contracts in Russian and told to sign or face imprisonment. Threats escalated to include violence and death. Those who resisted were shown examples of others being beaten or told they would be abandoned in conflict zones without support. The systematic nature of these operations—identical patterns reported across multiple cases—indicates state-level coordination rather than isolated criminal activity.

Bangladeshi authorities have arrested at least one alleged trafficker, Tamanna Zerin, connected to Dream Home Travels, but the network's Russian-side infrastructure remains operational. Survivors describe a processing system too efficient and too connected to military logistics to exist without official sanction.

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A crisis of accountability

Survivors who have managed to return to Bangladesh describe psychological trauma, unpaid wages, and threats against family members if they speak publicly. The Bangladeshi government has issued warnings against fraudulent recruitment but lacks enforcement mechanisms to dismantle networks operating across borders. Russian authorities have not acknowledged the trafficking operation, instead processing the workers through standard military recruitment procedures once contracts are signed under duress.

The death of Kabir, confirmed by family members who received notification through informal channels rather than official military communication, underscores the expendability embedded in this system. His body has not been repatriated. His family has received no compensation. In the calculus of states waging wars of attrition, workers like Kabir exist in a legal void—too valuable as military labor to release, too marginal to protect.