20 thousand migrants are fighting on the front line

According to the Investigative Committee of Russia, 20,000 migrants from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan are fighting in the war in Ukraine.

On May 20, the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin, stated at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum that 20,000 individuals who received Russian citizenship have been sent to the combat zone in Ukraine.

Bastrykin, known for his anti-migrant positions, reported that during raids conducted by the Investigative Committee in cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Guard, about 80,000 foreigners who obtained Russian citizenship were identified but had not registered for military service.

“Already 20,000 ‘young’ citizens of Russia, who for some reason do not like living in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan, are on the front lines,” he said.

Bastrykin instructed his subordinates to continue checks in areas where migrants gather and to identify those who evade military duty after obtaining citizenship.

It is worth noting that in August 2024, President Vladimir Putin signed a law stating that foreigners who do not appear at the military enlistment office to register for military service after obtaining citizenship may be stripped of their citizenship.

In his speech, Bastrykin also raised the issue of crime among migrants, reporting a 15% increase in the number of crimes involving them in the first quarter of 2025. He specifically highlighted cases related to drug trafficking and crimes against minors.

He claims that “future criminals” are arriving in Russia under the guise of migrants, and that they need to be detained and deported so that they “commit crimes in their homeland, not in Russia.”

In his speech, Bastrykin also raised the issue of crime among migrants again, noting that over the year, migrants committed 38,500 crimes compared to 38,900 in 2023. At the beginning of 2025, the number of crimes committed by foreigners increased by 15% to 12,400.

He stated that “future criminals” are arriving in Russia under the guise of migrants, and that they need to be detained and deported so that they “commit crimes in their homeland, not in Russia.”

It is noteworthy that these statements by Bastrykin were made against the backdrop of recent comments by the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Sergey Shoigu, who reported that despite the increase in the number of migrants to 5.9 million people in 2024, the crime rate among them remained stable at only 2% of the total number of registered crimes in the country.

At the forum, it was also announced that the Investigative Committee is developing legislative initiatives to strengthen control over migrants. Among the proposals are restrictions on entry with families and placing all costs for housing, medical care, and insurance for migrants on employers.

Bastrykin also called on law enforcement to tighten control at the borders and within the country, and to restrict entry into Russia for “adherents of radical Islamic movements.”

It should be noted that over the past year, several new laws have been adopted in the State Duma that tighten the already difficult conditions for labor migrants. Alongside this, xenophobic rhetoric has sharply intensified in Russia: raids have increased in dormitories, cafes, and markets, where migrants, especially those from Tajikistan, are subjected to arbitrary detentions, beaten, forcibly taken to military enlistment offices, or even sent to war.