The Dominican Republic on Friday warned its citizens against job offers in Russia that could lead them to fight in Ukraine, after receiving complaints about possible recruitment.
“Faced with complaints and information received regarding job offers for Dominican citizens to travel to Russia and their possible subsequent link with activities related to the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “urges the population to exercise caution in the face of this type of proposals,” according to a press release.
“Check the origin of the offers”
The ministry recommends checking the origin of offers, the identity of the employer and the recruitment conditions, “in particular when the procedures are carried out exclusively digitally or via intermediaries whose identity or approval cannot be verified”. Dominican Foreign Minister Victor Bisono raised the issue with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the ministry said in another press release.
Mr. Bisono “expressed the concern of the Dominican government” and Mr. Lavrov said he was instructing the department of his ministry responsible for relations with Latin America and the Caribbean to follow up on the matter. The two ministers “agreed to maintain a channel of communication,” the statement added. The authorities’ concern arose from the media coverage of the case of Dominican Juan Carlos Avila Espaillat, 28, engaged with the Russian army.
Soldiers of 47 nationalities recruited, according to Zelensky
He shared videos on Instagram where he appears in military uniform and armed with assault rifles from different areas of the Russian front, joking with his comrades: “Look at the beauty of this field” of sunflowers in Ukraine, he said in a video. “I heard a Russian listen to Romeo Santos (Dominican singer) and I made him listen to all his songs”, or “Ukraine, new Russia”, are some of his messages on social networks.
Mr. Avila Espaillat, who describes himself as an “unstoppable warrior,” said he was injured in a leg after a Ukrainian drone attack and a mine explosion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the UN General Assembly that Russia had recruited soldiers of 47 nationalities.
Russia’s recruitment of foreigners who are subsequently sent to fight in Ukraine constitutes a “crime of human trafficking,” recently asserted Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International. Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moscow and kyiv have accused each other of using foreign fighters.
