We are alarmed by a recent report that highlighted the horrors faced by Bangladeshi migrant workers who were lured to Russia with promises of a better future but later had little choice but to fight in the Ukraine war. Many of them also ended up in Ukrainian jails as prisoners of war (POWs). The stories of these men go beyond isolated incidents, pointing to exploitation by domestic actors and their transnational network, the crippling desperation and helplessness plaguing the country’s youth, and the government’s apathy and unpreparedness. This is especially alarming given that at least 104 Bangladeshis had been reportedly recruited into the Russian military as of February 2026, while at least 34 of them had been reportedly killed.

The experiences of three POWs in Ukraine—Rimel from Gaibandha, Sarwar from Mymensingh, and Kamrul from Brahmanbaria—suggest that trafficking networks are not confined to any isolated region, nor does their recruitment strategy easily raise doubts in the minds of potential migrants. For instance, Rimel was offered a scaffolding job in Russia for which he spent Tk 6 lakh; but once he lost this stable work, he had to join the Russian military. Like him, Sarwar paid an exorbitant amount to an agency and travelled to Russia to work on a gas project, but when the project expired, he signed contracts written in Russian and joined the military. Kamrul, meanwhile, alleged that he was deceived by an Uzbek broker who offered to take him to Italy, but after he gave them several lakhs of taka in advance, he too ended up in Russia. All three men mentioned in our report were desperate to recover the money they had spent on a journey built on deception, which pushed them towards increasingly dangerous choices.

What is puzzling is that none of the POWs were contacted by the Bangladeshi authorities. Why is the government showing such apathy in repatriating these men who only hope to return home as soon as possible? The indifference on the government’s part, compounded by the lack of initiatives to dismantle the trafficking networks preying on young desperate men, deeply disappoints us. We strongly urge the government to begin the repatriation process of the stranded Bangladeshis in war zones. Also, investigations against the local recruiting agents and their related offices involved in such fraudulent activities must be strengthened, along with initiating widespread awareness programmes. Above all, the root of the problem that leads a section of our youth to consider sailing for the dangerous unknown must be addressed. Young people should be able to see at least a safe future in their own homeland.