Office of the Public Prosecutor of Peru He started A preliminary investigation follows appeals from relatives of citizens of this country, who were allegedly lured to Russia by deception and sent to war against Ukraine. This statement was issued on May 1 after publications appeared in Peruvian media at the end of April about hundreds of citizens who found themselves in such a situation. The investigation is carried out by a unit specialized in human trafficking crimes.
In total, about 600 Peruvians have left Peru for Russia since October 2025. He said Reporters were told by attorney Percy Salinas, who represents the interests of some of the missing citizens. Another lawyer, Marcelo Tatagi, advises the families of Peruvians who have left for Russia. He saidThat 135 missing person reports have already been filed – and that there is information about a further 250 possible cases.
At least 13 Peruvian citizens were killed. He said Attorney Salinas told reporters. Ronald Rojas Alcantara, 25, who went to Russia to work as a security guard, died after being shot on April 29 after not receiving adequate medical care. He said RPP Radio is his sister. Several Peruvians are known to have been infected. Among them is a 63-year-old chef.
As follows from the words of lawyers and relatives, Peruvian citizens were lured to Russia with promises of work in various industries, including those related to the armed forces, but far from the front line (for example, in some cases it was guarding a military base or working in the field of army nutrition). how He writes Peruvian lo republica were called upon to guard embassies and hospitals and act as engineers, cooks and taxi drivers. According to the publication, they were promised salaries ranging from 2.6 to 4 thousand dollars per month (which is several times more than Average salary in the capital of Peru), in addition to a “welcome bonus” of $20,000, which the Peruvians did not receive in the end. Recruitment, by words One of the lawyers was involved in an organization registered in Colombia.
According to Salinas’s lawyer, before traveling to Russia, the Peruvians were allowed to sign documents in Russian. When they found themselves in Russia, their documents were stolen and they were sent for short military training and then to war, La Repubblica wrote.
The sister of one of the soldiers said that he was able to leave the front and seek help from the Peruvian consulate in Moscow, but there he was advised to return to the military unit, refused to sign the contract and asked for his passport back. According to her, he followed the advice and then all contact with him disappeared. Reports RPP.
Attorney Salinas too He said About a group of 13 Peruvians trapped in a trench under constant drone fire and asking to be evacuated. Lawyers too He said About ten Peruvians took refuge in their country’s embassy in Moscow. Salinas said that the diplomatic department refused to accommodate the citizens, and recommended that they try to leave Russia on their own; While the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs maleThe story of being denied asylum is not true. A family of 130 Peruvians he asked The country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs will help repatriate their relatives.
The Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it summoned the Chargé d’Affaires of the Russian Embassy in Lima for a conversation about the situation, and also requested information from the Russian authorities about the whereabouts of Peruvian citizens and their health condition. The ministry stressed that Peruvian citizens must obtain permission from the authorities to serve in foreign armed forces.
Russian Embassy in Peru April 30 published Statement “due to the concern of Peruvian families for their relatives who have signed a contract for military service with the Russian Armed Forces.” The statement said that Russia “strongly respects the decision of foreign citizens to participate in the defense of their sovereignty and security,” and that if an official request is received, the embassy is prepared to do everything necessary to obtain information about Peruvian citizens.
On the same day, relatives of Peruvians caught up in the war organized a protest near the Russian embassy in Lima. One of the participants He said La Repubblica newspaper said that her father and 25 other Peruvians were lured to Russia under the guise of a tourist trip. According to her, the father said during the last communication session that he and his comrades were preparing to be sent to the front on May 15. He also said that they were physically exhausted and in difficult conditions (in particular, the places where they were fed allegedly contained dead bodies).
On May 1, the Go Through the Jungle human rights project, which helps people avoid being sent to war, began. He said About a group of Peruvians who were in Lipetsk and who were preparing to be sent to the front in the near future; A lawyer who learned of the situation from an acquaintance in Peru told human rights activists.
In a conversation with Meduza, this lawyer explained that in this group was the father of his friend’s friend, who went to Russia to work in mid-April. It was promised that the work would include cleaning, kitchen service and guarding Russian army warehouses. Moreover, the official reason for the trip was to attend a sporting event in Moscow. After arriving in Russia, the man, according to his relatives, was sent to Lipetsk; There he was temporarily registered and underwent a medical examination, after which a military service contract was signed with him and he was sent for training.
According to Meduza’s interlocutor, at the end of April the man was able to contact his family briefly and ask to be transferred away from there. According to the man’s relatives, on the evening of May 1, this group of Peruvians was in the occupied territories of Ukraine in the Lugansk region.