Crimea is being turned into a trap for migrants

On the temporarily occupied Crimean peninsula, the Russian authorities are increasingly engaging labor migrants from Central Asia in urban improvement and construction.

This was reported by the National Resistance Center.

According to the Center's sources, many of these workers work without proper documentation. In many cases, their passports and other documents are taken away by foremen or intermediaries, which makes people completely dependent on their employers.

In addition to labor exploitation, migrants are subjected to pressure from Russian law enforcement agencies. Authorities and military commissariats use the threat of deportation or problems with documents to force Central Asians to sign contracts with the Russian army.

According to various estimates, tens of thousands of migrants may have already been recruited into the Russian armed forces. Initially, they are used as cheap labor in the occupied territories, and later as a reserve to replenish the Russian army.

The ATESh guerrilla movement has also recorded the massive importation of migrants to the temporarily occupied settlements of Crimea, in particular to Yevpatoriya.

According to the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the Russian occupiers continue to use various methods of forced and illegal mobilization on the peninsula. These include an electronic register of summonses, raids on hotels and construction sites, and agitation to join territorial self-defense bodies.

The agency notes that in such ways the occupation authorities are trying to replenish the Russian army at the expense of the peninsula's residents.

Since 2015, the Russian authorities have conducted 21 conscription campaigns in the occupied Crimea. During this time, more than 50,000 residents of the peninsula were forced to serve, including about 5,500 in 2024 alone.

Ірина Глухова