Reports published on January 20, 2026 indicate that Russia is offering women from Central Asia held in its prisons the option to go to the war in Ukraine in exchange for early release. The women, many of them labor migrants, are reportedly being pressured to agree to deployment as auxiliary personnel, including medics, laundry workers, and kitchen staff, marking a shift from earlier practices that confined imprisoned women to factory-style labor inside penal colonies.
Human rights advocates say the initiative reflects an increasingly acute shortage of personnel within the Russian military after sustained losses during large-scale assaults. According to accounts gathered by relatives of detainees, refusals are often met with intimidation, leaving prisoners with little realistic choice.
From prison labor to frontline support roles
Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, women from Central Asia in Russian detention facilities were initially used indirectly to support the war effort, sewing uniforms and producing supplies for troops. Recent testimonies suggest a more direct role is now being promoted, with authorities encouraging or coercing women to travel to combat zones under the guise of non-combat support.
Abdurakhmon Tashanov, head of the Uzbek human rights organization Ezgulik, said he does not yet have verified data on how many women have been sent to Ukraine, but confirmed receiving multiple appeals from families alarmed by recruitment attempts. He noted a broader pattern in which migrant workers are detained on drug-related charges and later pressured into signing contracts with Russia’s defence ministry.
Allegations of coercion and legal manipulation
Tashanov said complaints from Central Asian families increasingly describe cases in which narcotics were allegedly planted on migrant workers in Russia, leading to prosecution under strict drug statutes. Once convicted, detainees are reportedly presented with the option of imprisonment or deployment linked to the war. These practices, he argues, amount to coercion rather than voluntary enlistment.
Human rights groups have previously reported that around a thousand women were transferred from penal colonies to the front lines, some of whom were killed while others returned home after receiving pardons. The latest reports suggest that the pool of vulnerable detainees is being further expanded to include foreign nationals with limited legal protection.
International law concerns and regional implications
The recruitment of imprisoned women, particularly foreign citizens, raises serious concerns under international humanitarian law. Legal experts note that involving detainees and other vulnerable civilian groups in armed conflict can be interpreted as forced mobilization and may constitute violations of the Geneva Conventions. Such cases could become part of future international legal proceedings against Moscow.
The situation also highlights the precarious position of Central Asian migrant women in Russia, who face exposure to both the penal system and military exploitation. Their circumstances underscore the lack of effective protection mechanisms from their countries of origin and the structural risks faced by migrant communities abroad.
Silence from governments, pressure on rights groups
Official authorities in Uzbekistan have sought to maintain a neutral stance on the war in Ukraine and have not publicly criticized Russia over the recruitment of their citizens. At the same time, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan have opened criminal cases against individuals who fought in Ukraine, with some returnees receiving prison sentences of up to five years.
This legal ambiguity leaves migrants caught between competing jurisdictions and heightened personal risk. In this environment, domestic human rights organizations have become the primary channel for documenting abuses and relaying information to international institutions. Detailed reporting by independent media, including an investigation published by Current Time, has intensified calls for an international inquiry into the recruitment of imprisoned women from Central Asia.
