Four of the 30 Bangladeshi workers who travelled to Russia under employment contracts and were allegedly forced to participate in the Russia-Ukraine war have died, while the government has launched diplomatic efforts to bring the remaining workers back home, Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury told Parliament on Thursday.
Responding to a question from Lalmonirhat-1 MP Md Hasan Rajib Pradhan during the question-and-answer session of the 22nd sitting of the second and first budget session of the 13th Parliament, the minister said the government is working through the Bangladesh Embassy in Moscow to secure the return of the remaining workers.
According to the minister, on April 24, three recruiting agencies (RL licence numbers 1455, 1428 and 2505) sent 30 Bangladeshi workers to Russia after obtaining manpower clearance from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET).
He said the government intervened after receiving reports that, upon their arrival in Russia, the workers were being forcibly prepared for military service and arrangements were being made to send them from training camps to the battlefield.
Following the reports, the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment wrote to the Bangladesh Embassy in Moscow on June 15, instructing it to take the necessary steps to rescue the stranded workers and facilitate their repatriation.
“The latest information available indicates that four of the 30 workers have died,” the minister said, adding that the government hopes to bring the remaining workers back through continued engagement with the relevant Russian authorities.
Chowdhury said the 30 young Bangladeshis had travelled to Russia in April this year after being promised high-paying jobs. Their family members later alleged that, instead of being employed, they were given military training and were being prepared for deployment to the front lines of the Ukraine war.
After the allegations surfaced, the government launched an investigation and intensified diplomatic efforts to secure their return. The minister also noted that international media outlets had published investigative reports alleging that Bangladeshi workers were lured to Russia with promises of lucrative employment before being sent to the war zone.