‘Cannon fodder’ Asians tricked to fight for Russia spur calls for intervention

A report that eight Indonesians were allegedly tricked into fighting for Moscow in its war on Ukraine may be just the tip of the iceberg, analysts warn, cautioning that Southeast Asia’s existing scam networks could already be a hunting ground for Russian fraudsters.

Ukraine’s intelligence agency revealed on August 27 that the Indonesians had been lured with promises of well-paid civilian jobs. Jakarta has confirmed it is aware of the case.

The agency said Indonesia had become the “latest example” of countries whose nationals were being tricked into filling the ranks of Russia’s depleted forces. “The scheme Moscow uses to seek foreign cannon fodder has already been tested in dozens of other countries,” it warned.

The disclosure follows earlier reports that Moscow had lured Filipinos into combat roles. The Philippine military said in August it was still verifying reports that a Filipino fighting for Russia had been killed in action.

The Philippines’ Bureau of Immigration said that same month that it had rescued 18 Filipinos from what it described as “fake job offers”, though it did not specify whether these were related to deceptive recruitment into the Russian military.

In January, a Filipino identified only as a “John Patrick” was named by Ukraine’s intelligence services as among those killed in the occupied Donetsk region. Manila said at the time that it was seeking to confirm the Ukrainian statement.