Jakarta. Ukraine wants to stop more Indonesians from joining the Russian army in the years-long war.

A recent report by the Ukrainian intelligence service agency FISU stated that Moscow had recruited at least 8 Indonesian men and sent them to the front. Jakarta is still looking into the reports, including whether these men fell for job scams. 

In a press statement on Wednesday, the Ukrainian Embassy in Indonesia warned people against employment, education, or military-related offers linked to Russia. The embassy “stands ready” to work with the government to prevent Indonesians from being recruited into Russian forces. 

“... [as well as] to gain access in cases of their capture of prisoners of war, and address individual cases through applicable diplomatic, legal, and humanitarian channels,” the statement reads.

Ukraine is also currently looking into the “circumstances” of their recruitment, while signaling that some may “have been victims of misleading information, manipulation, or coercion”.

Kyiv promised to stay committed to “international humanitarian law”, should the foreigners be taken as prisoners of war “irrespective of their nationality”. For context, some foreign fighters have ended up in Ukrainian prisons.

“No Indonesian citizen should become another victim of deceptive recruitment used to sustain Russia’s unlawful war against Ukraine,” the embassy said.

An investigation by the Foreign Ministry is underway, although Deputy House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad had already blamed the recruitment on fraudulent job offers, citing intelligence data. Dasco even claimed that the 8 men had originally applied for civilian jobs, and an unnamed third-party country had dragged the Indonesians into this. 

Chief legal affairs minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said on Wednesday that Jakarta mustn’t jump to conclusions. The Indonesians in question are indeed at risk of losing their citizenships if they are proven to have willingly become a Russian mercenary without President Prabowo Subianto’s approval.

“But we can’t determine an individual’s citizenship status based on news reports or one-sided information alone. We must conduct an investigation and follow the process as per our regulations,” Yusril said.

Russian ambassador Sergei Tolchenov told the press that his embassy “never” actively sought Indonesian mercenaries or even promoted military recruitment. However, he admitted that the army is open for foreigners who want to fight in the war on their own will.

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