In Kyrgyzstan, four people were detained in a case of recruiting mercenaries for the Russian army, reported «Radio Azattyk»*. The case was initiated by the State Committee for National Security.
One of the arrested is an employee of the Russian House in the city of Osh, Natalia Sekerina. She was charged with «recruitment, financing, material support, training of mercenaries for use in armed conflicts of other states or violent actions aimed at overthrowing state power or violating territorial integrity, as well as the use of mercenaries in military conflicts or actions», and the woman was taken into custody.
The second accused, Sergey Lapushkin, works in the press service of the Osh city hall. The names of the other two figures in this case are unknown.
Previously, the cases of three citizens of Kyrgyzstan who participated in the war in Ukraine on the side of Russia caused a wide public outcry.
In 2023, a man named Askar Kubanychbek uulu was sentenced to ten years in a colony in Kyrgyzstan. He was accused at home of participating in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Kyrgyz citizen appealed to the Russian authorities, after which the sentence was mitigated and he was released under the obligation to report to the security forces twice a month. However, in the summer of 2024, he fled to Russia and went to fight in Ukraine again.
According to the Ukrainian project «I Want to Live», at least 360 citizens of Kyrgyzstan fought as part of the Russian army in Ukraine, some of these people have already died.
* Recognized in Russia as a «foreign agent» and «undesirable» organization.