Indonesia seeks restrictions across all recruitment channels
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yvonne Mewengkang said Sunday that Indonesia had lodged its objection through diplomatic channels. Jakarta wants Russia to formally designate Indonesians as ineligible for military recruitment, with the restriction applying regardless of how they are recruited.
"The Indonesian government has asked the Russian government to take the necessary steps to ensure that Indonesian citizens are not recruited into the Russian military or other military-related formations through any channel," Yvonne said.
Yvonne said Indonesia expects Moscow to put those restrictions into effect. Jakarta has also expressed concern that human trafficking may be involved in some recruitment.
Embassy checks Ukrainian account of recruit's death
The Indonesian Embassy in Moscow is seeking to establish the identity and military status of the man reported killed, Yvonne said. Indonesian authorities have not independently confirmed the Ukrainian account or the circumstances of his recruitment and reported death.
Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Directorate, known as HUR, reported on Oct. 27 that an Indonesian referred to by the initials MT had joined Russian forces and died roughly a week after reaching the battlefield. The report described him as a former Jakarta taxi driver born in 1978 who had signed a one-year contract.
HUR identified the man as Taufiq Muhammad and supplied further biographical details: he was born in Sorong, Indonesia, on May 22, 1978, and had previously lived in Surabaya on Java. The agency said his work history included managing an agricultural company as well as driving a taxi in Jakarta. It also said he had worked in the United States and spoke English.
According to HUR's account, Muhammad signed his contract in Korolyov, near Moscow, on April 19, 2026. After being assigned to serve as a machine gunner, he spent about a week and a half at a training facility near Voronezh before being moved to Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory in early May.
HUR said he died in his first combat engagement during a Russian attempt to advance from Zelena Dolyna toward Novoselivka and Drobysheve in the Donetsk region.
Other reported recruits and allegations of coercion
A separate Ukrainian report emerged on Oct. 31, when the 7th Air Assault Corps said Ukrainian forces had captured an Indonesian on the Huliaipole front. According to the corps, he had been fighting with Russia's 39th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade.
The corps also alleged that Russia recruits mercenaries in African and Asian countries with promises of civilian jobs or safe contract service, then takes away their documents and phones and forces them to the line of contact.
In September, Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service published documents it said showed that at least eight Indonesians had been recruited into Russia's armed forces. The names it gave were Yuda Putra Pratama, Haryanto Dwi Kencana, Erwanda, Ngangun Hudri Fadli, Muhammad Syaripudin, Hadi Maulana, Wahyu Oktavian Iskandar and Helmi Nuraha Hakim. Neither their identities nor their military status has been independently verified.
Other Indonesians previously reported as recruits include former Indonesian Navy Marine Corps member Satria Arta Kumbara and Muhammad Rio, formerly of the Aceh Regional Police Mobile Brigade, or Brimob. Kompas.id reported that Rio told a colleague he had received a signing bonus of 2 million rubles, about IDR 420 million, and monthly pay of 210,000 rubles, about IDR 42 million.
Ukraine has also reported broader figures for foreign enlistment. On Oct. 19, its Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said nearly 46,000 people from 151 countries had signed Russian Defense Ministry contracts. Moscow reportedly aims to recruit 18,500 foreigners in 2026, with more than 16,000 already enlisted.
Citizenship consequences and warnings for job seekers
Indonesian law allows a citizen to lose citizenship for voluntarily joining a foreign military without the president's prior permission. That provision, in Article 23 of Law No. 12/2006, requires an administrative process rather than citizenship being lost without further action.
Articles 29-30 of the law set out that process, with details in Government Regulations PP No. 2/2007 and PP No. 21/2022. Under PP No. 21/2022, a request from the person concerned or a report from another party must be verified for accuracy by the Minister of Law before citizenship is lost.
Amid concerns that foreign recruits have been misled about the work awaiting them, Yvonne advised Indonesians seeking jobs abroad to check offers through authorized institutions. She warned them not to sign contracts they do not fully understand and to be wary of promises of unusually high pay.
