Jakarta. At least eight Indonesian nationals may have been recruited to fight for Russia after initially applying for jobs as security guards or administrative staff, House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said on Tuesday.

Dasco did not explicitly name the country involved, but his remarks came in response to an earlier Foreign Affairs Ministry statement announcing an investigation into reports that eight Indonesians had been recruited to join Russian forces amid the ongoing war with Ukraine.

“The Indonesians applied for job vacancies, but they were then sent to become soldiers. That is the information we have received,” Dasco told reporters at the parliament complex in Jakarta.

Dasco said the information came from Indonesian intelligence authorities, which had uncovered alleged recruitment of Indonesian nationals through third countries using offers of highly paid employment.

He said Indonesian intelligence agencies and the Foreign Affairs Ministry had taken preventive measures, coordinated their response, and dispatched hundreds of representatives to relevant countries to address the issue.

Earlier in the day, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Yvonne Mewengkang said the government was still verifying reports that Indonesian nationals had joined the Russian armed forces.

“Information concerning the identities, citizenship status, recruitment process, and nature of the involvement of the individuals mentioned still needs to be further verified,” Yvonne said in a statement.

She stressed that if the Indonesians’ involvement is confirmed, their actions would represent individual decisions and would not reflect the policy or position of the Indonesian government.

Separately, Coordinating Minister for Legal Affairs Yusril Ihza Mahendra said on Monday that the government had also received reports concerning two Indonesians allegedly serving in foreign militaries, identified as Kezia Syifa and Muhammad Rio.

Kezia has been reported to be serving in the US military, while Rio, a former police officer in Aceh, has reportedly joined the Russian military.

Yusril said Indonesian law allows citizens to lose their nationality if there is sufficient evidence that they have joined a foreign military.

“We have to gather the data and determine whether they have actually joined foreign militaries, and whether they are still Indonesian citizens,” Yusril said.

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