Rimel Mia from Sundarganj in Gaibandha left Bangladesh in March 2025 after spending Tk 6 lakh to secure a scaffolding job in Russia, hoping to repay his debts and support his family. After losing stable work and struggling with his legal status, he joined the Russian military, received only three days of training and was sent to the frontline.

I spent about a month alone in a bunker-like shelter, where my duties resembled those of a security guard. I did not fire at anyone.

Rimel Mia

He is now being held at a detention facility in Ukraine after being captured by Ukrainian forces as a prisoner of war.

“My family does not know where I am, whether I am alive or dead,” Rimel told The Daily Star in an interview via Zoom yesterday.

He hoped the interview would at least let his family know that he was alive.

“They may have thought I was dead. If they learn that I am alive, they will find some peace,” he said.

Rimel was one of three Bangladeshi prisoners of war interviewed by The Daily Star. The interviews were arranged by Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

The two others were Sarwar Sumon from Trishal in Mymensingh and Kamrul Hasan from Nabinagar in Brahmanbaria.

They also described how debt, immigration problems and promises of large payments for civilian jobs eventually led them into the Russian military and then to the Ukrainian frontline.

Their accounts, however, differed over how they enlisted. Rimel and Sarwar said they enlisted voluntarily, while Kamrul alleged that an Uzbek broker in Russia tricked him, promising to take him to Italy.

The Daily Star had earlier reported, citing a joint report by Bangkok-based Fortify Rights and Ukraine-based Truth Hounds, that at least 104 Bangladeshis had been recruited into the Russian military as of February 2026, while at least 34 had reportedly been killed fighting Ukrainian forces.

The report found that many were lured with promises of jobs as cleaners, factory workers, electricians or security guards. They paid brokers between $1,000 (around Tk 1.2 lakh) and $5,000 (around Tk 6.1 lakh), signed Russian-language contracts they could not read, and were later sent to military facilities and the frontline.

Some survivors also reported passport seizure, assault, non-payment of wages and threats when they tried to leave.

All three prisoners said they wanted to return to Russia to collect or withdraw money they believed had been promised or deposited by the Russian military before returning to Bangladesh.

Rimel said he received training on construction work at a centre in Ashulia before leaving for Russia. He borrowed much of the money needed for the journey.

After arriving in Russia, he worked as a scaffolder for a company that paid him $700 a month and issued him a nine-month work permit.

When a Bangladeshi supervisor warned that the workers might not be retained for long, Rimel left and travelled to Moscow, where he found work in road construction. He stayed there for around 15 days.

With police frequently checking documents and his work permit nearing expiry, he began looking for another way to remain legally in Russia.

He later travelled to Ufa and signed a contract with the Russian military.

“Nobody forced me,” he said, adding that he hoped military service would help him obtain Russian citizenship and recover the money he had spent going abroad.

The contract was written in Russian, a language he could not understand.

Rimel said he was promised Tk 2.10 lakh to Tk 2.50 lakh a month and a Russian passport after completing a one-year contract. His Bangladeshi passport was taken and never returned, he said.

He was sent to the frontline after only three days of training.

“I spent about a month alone in a bunker-like shelter, where my duties resembled those of a security guard. I did not fire at anyone,” Rimel said.

Food, water, cigarettes and other supplies were dropped near his position by drones. He communicated with the Russian side by radio.

On the evening of December 8, 2025, two Ukrainian soldiers approached his position. Rimel said he surrendered immediately.

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We saw bodies scattered through the forest. We slept under trees as we had no proper shelter. Food was sometimes delivered by drones.

Sarwar Sumon

The second prisoner, Sarwar, said he travelled to Russia with other Bangladeshis to work at a gas project after paying around Tk 6 lakh to an agency.

The third, Kamrul, said he had worked in Singapore for about 12 years before travelling to Russia for the gas-field project.

Sarwar said he had been promised a two-year contract, but the project ended after about six months and the company gave the workers tickets to return to Bangladesh.

He said he did not want to return after spending so much money on the journey.

In Moscow, he and Kamrul found Russian military recruitment advertisements carrying telephone numbers.

They called one of the numbers and were taken by private car to Tula, where they underwent medical examinations and signed contracts written in Russian on March 20, Sarwar said, adding that he did not understand the documents.

After about 35 days of training, the two Bangladeshis were sent to a forested frontline position, where they stayed for around five days.

Sarwar said, “We saw dead bodies scattered through the forest. We slept under trees as we had no proper shelter, while food was sometimes delivered by drones.”

He said the position came under repeated drone attacks, sometimes at intervals of around two minutes.

They were told to shoot if they saw Ukrainian soldiers, but he said they never opened fire.

On the fifth day, May 13, five Ukrainian soldiers surrounded them as they sat beneath a tree in light rain. They surrendered.

Sarwar said he and Kamrul were positioned at the front without any Russian soldiers beside them, while foreign recruits from Peru and other countries remained behind.

He said Kamrul handled most communication with their Russian commander because he could speak English, while neither of them understood Russian.

He also said he had received around Tk 4 lakh in salary and bonuses before reaching the frontline.

A further payment was supposed to be deposited into his Russian bank account within one to one and a half months of joining the military, but he had been unable to check whether it had been credited.

He said he wanted to return to Russia, withdraw the money if it was available, and then return to Bangladesh.

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I have my mother, wife and two children back home. I haven’t been able to tell them that I am being held in Ukraine.

Kamrul Hasan

Kamrul’s account of joining, however, differed with Sarwar’s one.

When the project ended, Kamrul said, an Uzbek broker offered to take him to Italy through Latvia, Poland and Germany for Tk 10 lakh.

He said he had paid Tk 5 lakh in advance.

Instead of being taken to Italy, Kamrul alleged, he and Sarwar were taken to an office and told to sign documents written entirely in Russian.

He said they did not know the papers were military contracts.

Kamrul said he felt he had no other option but to sign having already paid the broker.

“I have my mother, wife and two children back home. I haven’t been able to tell them that I am being held in Ukraine,” he said.

None of the three men said they had been contacted directly by the Bangladesh government, an embassy or a high commission.

For them, the interview with The Daily Star was their first conversation with anyone from Bangladesh since their capture.

Under the Third Geneva Convention, prisoners of war must be allowed to inform their families of their capture and maintain correspondence, although communications may be monitored or restricted for security reasons.

The organisers of the interviews said such contact should take place through the International Committee of the Red Cross and that journalists were not permitted to contact relatives on the prisoners’ behalf.

Media representatives could, however, report that the men were alive and being held in Ukraine.

Rimel said representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross had visited the facility, but he did not ask them to contact his family because he did not understand the process at the time.

The prisoners said they followed a fixed daily routine at the Ukrainian facilities. They usually woke around 6:00am, washed and had breakfast between 6:30am and 7:00am, typically eating porridge, tea and bread.

During the day, they worked until around 3:00pm, including making shopping bags and packets for carrying clothes and cosmetics. Lunch generally consisted of soup, bread and porridge.

They said they were given regular meals, treated well and subjected to no physical abuse.

Maria Tomak of Ukrainian NGO Truth Hounds said the three accounts followed a common pattern: all had travelled to Russia for legitimate civilian jobs and were recruited into the military only after arriving there.

“This shows that Bangladeshi migrant workers in Russia may become vulnerable to military recruitment, whether voluntarily, through deception or under coercion,” she told The Daily Star.

Tomak said captivity was not the gravest possible outcome, as many foreign recruits had been killed or remained missing.

She warned Bangladeshis considering civilian work in Russia that foreign nationals could be targeted through fraud, coercion or violence and ultimately sent to the battlefield.

John Quinley, director of Fortify Rights, said the Bangladesh government should seek access from Ukraine to speak to the Bangladeshi prisoners of war and explore the possibility of bringing them home.

“The Bangladesh government should request access from Ukraine to speak to these Bangladeshi POWs and see whether repatriation is possible,” he told The Daily Star.

Quinley said many Bangladeshi men take on substantial debts to secure overseas employment. Some are trafficked to Russia, while others join the Russian armed forces willingly for money or in the hope of obtaining Russian citizenship.

He said that if Bangladesh sends more workers to Russia, the government must ensure prospective migrants are fully informed about the risks of trafficking and exploitation.