Milli Majlis Member Accuses Agencies of Recruiting Azerbaijanis in Russian-Ukrainian War

“In recent years, the media has circulated sad news about the deaths or disappearances of dozens of Azerbaijanis fighting on both sides of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Alongside our compatriots who have voluntarily joined the war at the request of their host countries, the number of Azerbaijani citizens being recruited for combat operations as mercenaries is also increasing,” stated Zahid Oruj, the chairman of the Human Rights Committee of the Milli Majlis, during today’s parliamentary session, according to APA.

Oruj noted that social media pages with undeniable connections to intelligence centers are conducting recruitment campaigns under the guise of targeted advertisements, “contractual service,” “employment,” or “training.” “Since there is no official statistic, according to data provided by military structures, hundreds of our compatriots and citizens are fighting in the enemy trenches,” he emphasized.

He pointed out that those recruiting individuals with professional combat experience from the Great Patriotic War to fight in Ukraine are not only inflicting a military-political blow to their families but also to our state. In addition, he mentioned that alongside reported deaths in the media, there is a lack of information regarding many of our compatriots who have gone missing in battles or have been captured.

“There is no doubt that intelligence services from third countries are behind this campaign. The Azerbaijani state does not officially participate in any war of other states as a military ally,” he stated.