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Panelists warn Central Asian migrants and prisoners are being recruited to fight in Ukraine; reintegration capacity varies
Summary
Experts at a U.S. Helsinki Commission briefing said Central Asian migrant workers in Russia and some prisoners are being recruited to fight in Ukraine, and that returning fighters pose security and rehabilitation challenges. Panelists noted prior experience with ISIS returnees and urged expanded reintegration and trauma services.
WASHINGTON — Central Asian migrant workers and some prisoners are being recruited to fight in the war in Ukraine, panelists said at a U.S. Helsinki Commission briefing, raising concerns about radicalization and post‑conflict reintegration.
Dr. Gavin Health told the commission that the region has a history of foreign‑fighter recruitment dating back to Islamic State activity in Iraq and Syria, and that the Ukraine war has produced similar recruitment patterns. “We first saw this with a very large migration of Central Asians as foreign fighters to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria,” he said, adding…
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