Ukrainian soldiers captured the first Indonesian citizen recruited into the Russian army. The 49-year-old man from the island of Java was sent to Zaporizhzhia Oblast to take part in an assault; however, after a drone attack, he ended up in territory controlled by Ukraine. This was reported by the state project "I Want to Live," UNN writes.
Details
Forty-nine-year-old Sukamto Ayok, originally from the city of Blitar on the island of Java, became the first Indonesian citizen to be captured in Ukraine.
His former classmate offered him a job in Russia under a civilian construction contract. He was acting on behalf of an unknown man named Aleksandr, who was recruiting people to be sent to the Russian Federation and arranged Sukamto’s arrival.
On July 22, Sukamto and a man named Charles Kumar flew to Moscow, where they were accommodated in an apartment with two Russians. After that, Sukamto signed a "construction" contract for a period of one year. In fact, it was a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense. He was assigned to the 39th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade (military unit 35390).
Sukamto and Charles found out what exactly they had signed on July 30—in a bus transporting them and 12 other people from Moscow to occupied Donetsk. According to Sukamto, he and the other Indonesian citizen tried to escape after that, but they were detained. Later, he was forcibly given a tattoo bearing an identification number directly on his chest.
No training, not even formal training, was provided. Sukamto and the other foreigners were taken under the supervision of Russian commanders to Zaporizhzhia Oblast, where they were supposed to take part in an assault. During the assault, Sukamto’s group came under attack by Ukrainian drones and was defeated. The Indonesian man himself wandered for several days until he reached Ukrainian positions, where he was captured
In October, Secretary of the Coordination Headquarters, Brigadier General Dmytro Usov, met with Arif Basalamah, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Indonesia to Ukraine. During the meeting, the Ukrainian side expressed its readiness to consent to a consular visit to Sukamto Ayok.
According to available data, Russia has recruited at least 292 Indonesian citizens and is attempting to increase the pace of recruitment amid enormous losses on the front.
As reported by The Guardian, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yvonne Mewengkang emphasized that the country’s government had appealed to Moscow, demanding that Indonesians not be involved in the Russian army or other military structures in Russia.
Indonesian authorities are particularly concerned about recruitment methods that may be connected to human trafficking.
Several days later, Indonesian police reported uncovering a criminal network engaged in recruiting the country’s citizens through social media and messaging apps.