Ukraine’s I Want to Live project reported that Ukrainian forces captured their first Indonesian prisoner of war serving with Russia, as Jakarta presses Moscow to stop recruiting Indonesians for military service.
The project identified the prisoner as a 49-year-old from Java. It said he wandered for several days after a drone strike on the Russian assault group to which he was assigned, then reached Ukrainian positions in Zaporizhzhia and was captured.
The project said at least 283 Indonesians went to fight for Russia from January through September 2026, compared with no more than 10 in the preceding three years. Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters earlier reported a rise in foreigners signing Russian military contracts: Its count reached 16,168 in the first nine months of 2026, exceeding its total of 16,085 for all of 2025.
On Nov. 1, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yvonne Mewengkang said Jakarta had asked Russia through diplomatic channels to stop recruiting Indonesians for military and related jobs. She said the government was concerned that recruitment practices could amount to human trafficking.
At a Nov. 2 briefing, Indonesian police said they had identified 58 victims across five police reports and 13 suspects. Police said recruiters advertised well-paid civilian work online before directing some Indonesians who traveled to Russia toward military contracts. The police investigation into the wider recruitment network is continuing.
