In remote Laur village, under Brahmanbaria’s Nabinagar upazila, Nazmin Akter has been waiting for months for a call from her husband, Kamrul Hasan, who left home for Russia in July last year in search of work but ended up in the Ukraine war.

The last message she received from him was not about work, wages or returning home; it was about survival.

“Pray for me. Look after our daughter. If I am alive, I will return,” Nazmin recalled Kamrul telling her in a video call before he was sent to the frontline.

Kamrul left Bangladesh for Russia on July 17, 2025, hoping for a better future, according to his family. But within months, the journey turned into a nightmare.

Speaking to The Daily Star at their home today, Nazmin said Kamrul first stayed in a rural area in Russia for around five to six months. Later, he moved to Moscow in search of work.

There, according to Nazmin, a broker promised him a job but allegedly took money from him and two other Bangladeshis without arranging any work.

The family said Kamrul had spent around Tk 8 to 9 lakh to go to Russia. The Daily Star obtained transaction details showing payments made to Tofayel Ahmed Rony, a broker who allegedly negotiated Kamrul’s journey to Russia.

The Daily Star tried to contact Rony over the phone, but his phone was found switched off.

After losing the money and failing to secure work, Kamrul and another Bangladeshi, who identified himself as Suman, came into contact with another broker who allegedly offered to take them to Italy through an irregular route, according to the family.

Nazmin said Kamrul later told her that he and others were forced into signing papers linked to the Russian military.

When she asked whether he had joined the war, Kamrul replied that he was in training after signing a one-year contract.

After that, for around one and a half to two months, there was no trace of Kamrul.

Then, on May 17 this year, Nazmin received a WhatsApp message from Swiss journalist Kurt Pelda.

Pelda told her Kamrul was alive and in the custody of Ukrainian forces, Nazmin said.

According to her, the journalist said Kamrul had fled from the Russian side after going without proper food for around a month and was later captured by Ukrainian soldiers.

Nazmin said Pelda arranged two video calls between her and Kamrul using the phone of a Ukrainian commander.

Later, she received another brief call. This time, Kamrul had only about one minute to speak.

“I asked him how I could bring him back to Bangladesh. He told me not to worry and said he might be sent home within three months,” she said.

But a couple of months have passed, and Nazmin has not heard from him again.

Pelda told The Daily Star today that he had not been able to trace the current location of Kamrul and another Bangladeshi in Ukraine.

According to the family, Kamrul had been in Ukrainian custody for around four months before being sent to a prison in July.

In the parliament today, Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury said the government had brought back many migrant workers jailed in different countries through embassy-level communication.

He said if accurate information on such cases is sent to the ministry’s designated email, steps would be taken by contacting ambassadors to bring them back quickly.

He said 30 expatriate Bangladeshi workers went to Russia on April 24 this year after receiving manpower clearance from the Manpower Employment and Training Bureau through the recruiting agencies.

A letter has been sent to the Bangladesh Embassy in Moscow on June 15 to take necessary measures to rescue and send the endangered Bangladeshi workers in Russia to their home country.

“According to the latest information, four out of the said 30 workers have died. I hope that it will be possible to bring the mentioned expatriate workers back to the country through communication with Russia,” the minister said.