AFP: Death in Ukraine of Pinoy fighting for Russia unconfirmed
The Armed Forces of the Philippines said on Tuesday that it is verifying a report that a Filipino was killed while fighting alongside Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, stressing that the information has yet to be confirmed by official sources.
“This is still an unverified report as of this time,” AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
“We are conducting validation, but we have yet to receive word from official sources, so at this point we cannot confirm it.”
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) said on Monday that a man identified as John Patrick, whom it described as a Filipino citizen, was killed near the village of Novoselivka in the Donetsk region while serving with Russian forces.
Asked about the government’s stance on Filipinos reportedly being used as mercenaries or participating in foreign conflicts, Padilla declined to comment, saying it was too early to address the issue.
“Let us not speculate,” she said. “It is still premature to answer that until the matter is verified.”
In December, the AFP said it was also verifying reports that Filipinos were allegedly being recruited to take part in the conflict in Ukraine.
Expanded recruitment
Ukraine’s intelligence agency has accused Russia of expanding the recruitment of foreign nationals into its armed forces through deception or coercion. Russia has not commented on the claim.
An Associated Press (AP) report, however, says that Russia is targeting foreigners, both from inside and abroad, offering accelerated Russian citizenship to enlistees.
Russian media and activists also report that raids in areas where migrants typically live or work have led to them being pressured into military service, with new citizens sent to enlistment offices to determine if they are eligible for mandatory service, AP said.
In November, Russian President Vladimir Putin decreed that military service was mandatory for certain foreigners seeking permanent residency.
Some reportedly are lured to Russia by trafficking rings promising jobs, then duped into signing military contracts. Cuban authorities in 2023 identified and sought to dismantle one such ring operating from Russia.
Nepal’s Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud told AP in 2024 that his country asked Russia to return hundreds of Nepali nationals who were recruited to fight in Ukraine, as well as to repatriate the remains of those killed in the war. Nepal has since barred citizens from traveling to Russia or Ukraine for work, citing recruitment efforts.
Also in 2024, India’s federal investigation agency said it broke up a network that lured at least 35 of its citizens to Russia under the pretext of employment. The men were trained for combat and deployed to Ukraine against their will, with some “grievously injured,” the agency said.
Misled
When Putin hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for talks in 2024, New Delhi said its nationals who were “misled” into joining the Russian army would be discharged.
Iraqi officials say about 5,000 of its citizens have joined the Russian military along with an unspecified number who are fighting alongside Ukrainian forces. Officials in Baghdad cracked down on such recruiting networks, with one man convicted last year of human trafficking and sentenced to life in prison.
This month, a Ukrainian agency for the treatment of prisoners of war said over 18,000 foreign nationals had fought or are fighting on the Russian side. Almost 3,400 have been killed, and hundreds of citizens of 40 countries are held in Ukraine as POWs.
If true, that represents a fraction of the 700,000 troops that Putin said are fighting for Russia in Ukraine. —WITH REPORT FROM AP
