Indonesian authorities are verifying Ukrainian claims that at least eight of its citizens have been recruited to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, media reported Monday.
Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU) last week published scans of seven e-visa applications and one migration card it said belonged to Indonesian men who had allegedly enlisted in the Russian military.
“Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country with a population of over 280 million, has joined the list of countries that the Kremlin has turned into yet another source of cheap manpower for the war,” SZRU said in a statement Thursday.
According to the Jakarta Globe, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Yvonne Mewengkang said officials were cross-checking the information with its diplomatic missions and other ministries.
“Further confirmation is required regarding the individuals’ identities, citizenships, recruitment process, and the nature of their involvement,” she was quoted as saying.
Yvonne said Indonesian authorities would also look into whether the recruits fell victim to fraudulent job postings or human trafficking, in which case Jakarta would take steps to protect the eight men identified by Ukraine.
If confirmed to be voluntary recruitment, the men could have their citizenship revoked under Indonesian law.
Ukraine’s SZRU said Russia has similar recruitment schemes involving promises of high pay, non-combat assignments and expedited Russian citizenship with citizens of Nepal, Cuba, Kenya and India.
Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, maintains a neutral foreign policy, refusing to take sides in the Ukraine war. Yvonne stressed that the actions of individual citizens do not reflect Indonesia’s foreign policy or its neutral stance on the conflict.
The Kremlin said last week that Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will be the main foreign guest at Russia’s Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Sept. 1-4. Prabowo visited Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin in July 2024.
Jakarta has maintained billion-dollar trade ties with Moscow, but major arms imports have stalled in recent years following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
