From courier in Russia to prisoner of war in Ukraine: the story of a native of Tajikistan

A video message from 24-year-old Tajik citizen Azimzoda Davlat Odina, who is currently in captivity in Ukraine, has come into the possession of Azda TV. In his video address, the prisoner of war states that after being detained in Russia, he was forced to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense of that country and go to war in Ukraine.

According to Azimzoda, at the time of his detention, he was working as a courier for the “Yandex.Eda” service in Russia. One day he received an order, but soon the order was canceled. He claims that after some time, the customer called him and said that the order was canceled by mistake and asked him to deliver it. Azimzoda replied that after the cancellation, the order now belonged to the service, and if the customer wanted to receive it, he should come himself. The Tajik migrant claims that he sent the customer the address, but an hour later, instead of the customer, police officers came to him and detained him. According to him, he was informed that there were narcotic substances inside the package.

Azimzoda Davlat Odina claims that after his detention, he was offered to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. He stated that he was told that if he signed the contract, he would receive a salary of 3 million rubles per month, and if he refused, he would still be sent to war, but he would fight for free.

According to this Tajik citizen, after that he was allowed to contact his relatives. The relatives informed him that they would find a lawyer, as they were confident that if he did not know about the narcotic substances in the package and was only fulfilling his duties as a courier, his rights could be defended and his release could be achieved. However, Azimzoda himself stated that by that time he had already signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense and informed his relatives that there was no longer any possibility to help him. Then the relatives advised him to surrender as soon as such an opportunity arose.

After that, he was sent to a military training ground, where he participated in exercises from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. After the exercises, he was forced to perform various tasks until late at night. According to Azimzoda, they were treated very poorly and their rights were violated. He also claims that many participants in the exercises at the training ground were prisoners or foreigners, including those from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. Many also had Russian citizenship, and criminal cases had been initiated against them.

After some time, the unit he was in was sent to the front line, where they were forced to dig trenches and perform other tasks. He claims that there were about 22 people in his unit, but many of them were killed or wounded in the first days. Azimzoda asserts that at one point he refused to follow an order, turned off the radio, left his position, spent the night in the woods, and voluntarily surrendered to Ukrainian forces.

According to a Tajik migrant, he is being treated well in captivity in Ukraine, provided with three meals a day and other necessary conditions. At the end of his address, Azimzoda urged citizens of Tajikistan and other countries not to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation under any circumstances. He stated that foreign nationals are mainly sent to the most dangerous areas of the front, where the likelihood of death is very high. He also addressed those who found themselves in the war against their will, recommending that they surrender at the first opportunity, noting that prisoners of war are treated well in Ukrainian captivity and provided with necessary conditions of detention.

It is important to note that Azimzoda is not the only citizen of Tajikistan sent from Russia to Ukraine to participate in the war and ended up in captivity. Earlier, the media reported multiple cases of other citizens of Tajikistan who found themselves in Ukrainian captivity and expressed regret about their participation in the war. They stated that they were forced to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense of Russia in various ways. Most of them also urged citizens of Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries not to sign such contracts.

According to the Ukrainian state project of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War “I Want to Live,” as of the beginning of 2026, the project has personal data on more than 11,000 citizens of Central Asian countries who fought in the Russian army against Ukraine or died. Of these, 3,079 are citizens of Tajikistan.

It is important to note that this statistic includes only those individuals whose personal data is available to the “I Want to Live” project. The actual number of citizens from Central Asian countries who participated in hostilities on the side of Russia against Ukraine or died in this war may be significantly higher.

Earlier, the chairman of the centralized religious organization “International Islamic Mission” in Russia, Shafik Pshikhachev, stated at a meeting of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation that at that time 8,000 Tajiks were participating in the war in Ukraine, and the actual number of Tajiks could be much higher.

The Ukrainian project “I Want to Live” previously reported that Tajiks, fleeing total poverty, end up in Russia, where they are treated like slaves — cheap labor. Russian nationalists, together with the police, have effectively organized a hunt for migrants, coercing those detained to sign contracts for participation in the war, threatening deportation or imprisonment. In police stations, Tajik migrants are forced to sign contracts, offered Russian citizenship to avoid deportation, or promised large payments, while being beaten and threatened with prison.

In the war, migrants are literally sent to slaughter, thrown into the most insane and hopeless assaults, taking the brunt of the attack, which is why the losses among them are catastrophic.

Earlier, a native of Tajikistan told Azda.tv that despite the completion of his contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense, he is not being allowed to leave Ukraine. The Tajik serviceman, currently in Ukraine, reported to Azda.tv on April 15, 2025, on the condition of anonymity that he signed a one-year contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense in February 2024 to participate in the war in Ukraine in exchange for obtaining Russian citizenship. According to him, his contract ended in February 2025, but despite the fact that two months have passed, he has not been allowed to leave the combat zone. He claims that he has written dozens of applications and letters to the prosecutor’s office and the Russian Ministry of Defense, but he has not been granted even a leave of absence.

He also emphasized that he suffers from severe psychological distress and has poor vision in his left eye. He has a medical certificate and a recommendation from the deputy commander of his company stating that he is unfit for further participation in combat operations.