Foreign volunteers who left their home countries to fight for Russia in Ukraine are now being discarded by the regime they sought to serve, in what experts describe as a growing pattern of betrayal. They include a Brazilian father facing deportation despite marrying a Russian woman and serving on the front line, a Czech national jailed under an international warrant, and an American welder deployed to combat after being promised a support role.
All are now trapped in a bureaucratic or legal no-man’s-land – and experts warn others may soon join them. One case involves a 31-year-old Brazilian who moved to Russia to study, married in an Orthodox church, and had a daughter.
After briefly returning to Brazil during the pandemic, he came back following the invasion of Ukraine and volunteered to fight.
“Rafael” (not his real name) served in Donetsk and took part in the storming of Avdiivka.
He speaks fluent Russian, has ties to the Don Cossacks, and hopes to sign a long-term military contract. But despite multiple applications supported by his lawyer, Nikolai Litvinov, all his citizenship requests have been rejected.
Though his visa is valid, the absence of a passport leaves him in constant danger of deportation. Litvinov has appealed directly to the Kremlin – a move experts say is unlikely to succeed.
Another case is that of Jiří Urbánek, a Czech national who joined pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk in 2015. Once involved in international security and trafficking, he was sentenced in absentia to 20 years for terrorism.
After crossing into Russia in 2023, he was arrested for lacking documents and now faces extradition under an Interpol red notice.
Even Americans are not exempt.
Derek Huffman, a 46-year-old Texan welder, moved his wife and three children to Russia to escape “woke America.”
Promised a rear-echelon logistics post HUffman, who speaks no Russian, was instead sent to the front after just two weeks’ training.
His wife later posted a video saying they never received the promised enlistment bonus and they could not even afford to buy a car.
“Putin talks about veterans of the special military operation being the best and brightest generation, the hope for Russia – but it’s clear that’s not happening,” said Russia expert Prof Mark Galeotti.
“Even the few who do come home aren’t getting the medical attention, psychosocial rehabilitation or jobs they need, because the state doesn’t have the bandwidth.”
Keir Giles, of Chatham House, added: “In today’s Russia, if you’re not someone with power, you’re disposable – it doesn’t matter whether you were born there or made the mistake of coming.”
