Workers from Bangladesh sought jobs in Russia but instead got sent to combat in Ukraine.


An Associated Press investigation found that Bangladeshi workers were lured to Russia under the false promise of civilian work, only to be thrust into the chaos of combat in Ukraine. Many were threatened with violence, imprisonment or death.

AP spoke with three Bangladeshi men who escaped from the Russian military, including Rahman, who said that after arriving in Moscow, he and a group of fellow Bangladeshi workers were told to sign Russian documents that turned out to be military contracts. They were taken to an army camp for training in drone warfare techniques, medical evacuation procedures and basic combat skills using heavy weapons.

Rahman protested, complaining that this was not the work he agreed to do. A Russian commander offered a stark reply through a translation app: “Your agent sent you here. We bought you.”

The three Bangladeshi men shared harrowing accounts of being coerced into front-line tasks against their will, including advancing ahead of Russian forces, transporting supplies, evacuating wounded soldiers and recovering the dead. The families of three other Bangladeshi men who are missing said their loved ones shared similar accounts with relatives.

Neither the Russian Defense Ministry, the Russian Foreign Ministry nor the South Asian country’s government responded to a list of questions from AP.

Rahman said the workers in his group were threatened with 10-year jail terms and beaten.

“They’d say, ‘Why don’t you work? Why are you crying?’ and kick us,” said Rahman, who escaped and returned home after seven months.

The workers’ accounts were corroborated by documents, including travel papers, Russian military contracts, medical and police reports, and photos. The documents show the visas granted to Bangladeshi workers, their injuries sustained during battles and evidence of their participation in the war.

How many Bangladeshis were deceived into fighting is unclear. The Bangladeshi men told AP they saw hundreds of Bangladeshis alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.

Officials and activists say Russia has also targeted men from other African and South Asian countries, including India and Nepal.
Overseas work supports Bangladeshi families

In the lush greenery of the Lakshmipur district in southeast Bangladesh, nearly every family has at least one member employed as a migrant worker overseas. Job scarcity and poverty have made such work essential.

Fathers embark on yearslong journeys for migrant work, returning home only for fleeting visits, just long enough to conceive another child, whom they will likely not see again for years. Sons and daughters support entire families with income earned abroad.

In 2024, Rahman was back in Lakshmipur after completing a contract in Malaysia and seeking new work. A labor recruiter advertised an opportunity to work as a cleaner in a military camp in Russia. He promised US$1,000 to $1,500 a month and the possibility of permanent residency.

Rahman took out a loan to pay the fee of 1.2 million Bangladeshi taka, about $9,800, to the broker as a fee. He arrived in Moscow in December 2024.
Basic training, then the battlefield

Once in Russia, Rahman and three other Bangladeshi workers were presented with a document in Russian. Believing it was a contract for cleaning services, Rahman signed.

Then they went to a military facility far from Moscow, where they were issued weapons and underwent three days of training, learning to fire, advance and administer first aid. The group went to a barrack near the Russia-Ukraine border and continued training.

Rahman and two others were then sent to front-line positions and ordered to dig pits inside a bunker.

“The Russians would take a group of say, five Bangladeshis. They would send us in front and stay at the back themselves,” he said.

The men stayed in a leaky bunker in the rain as bombs fell a few kilometers away. Missiles flew overhead.

One person was serving food. “The next moment, he was shot from a drone and fell to the ground right there. And then he was replaced,” Rahman said.
Promises of jobs far from the front

Some Bangladeshi workers were lured into the army with promises of positions far from the front line.

Mohan Miajee enlisted in the Russian army after the job that initially brought him to Russia — serving as an electrician for a gas-processing plant in the remote far east — was plagued by harsh working conditions and relentless cold.

While searching for employment online, Miajee was contacted by a #Russian army recruiter. When he expressed his reluctance to kill, the recruiter said his skills as an electrician made him an ideal candidate for an electronic warfare or drone unit that would be nowhere near combat.

#Ukraine’s President Volodymyr #Zelensky has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to Kyiv for talks, “if he dares”.

#Venezuela announces bill that could lead to mass release of prisoners detained for political reasons.

The measure had long been sought by the United States-backed opposition. It is the latest concession Rodríguez has made since taking the reins of the country on Jan. 3 after the brazen seizure of then-President Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military attack in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas.

Rodríguez told a gathering of justices, magistrates and others that the ruling party-controlled National Assembly would take up the bill with urgency.

“May this law serve to heal the wounds left by the political confrontation,” she added during the televised event.

The Venezuelan-based prisoners’ rights group Foro Penal estimates that 711 people are in detention facilities across the South American country for their political activities.

The government did not release the text of the bill on Friday, leaving unclear the specific criteria that will be used to determine who qualifies for amnesty.

Rodríguez’s government earlier this month had announced plans to release a significant number of prisoners in a goodwill gesture, but relatives of those detained have condemned the slow pace of the releases.

“A general amnesty is welcome as long as its elements and conditions include all of civil society, without discrimination, that it does not become a cloak of impunity, and that it contributes to dismantling the repressive apparatus of political persecution,” Alfredo Romero, president of Foro Penal, said on social media.

The organization has tallied 302 releases since Jan. 8, when National Assembly president Jorge Rodríguez announced that the government would free a significant number of prisoners.

The human rights group Provea in a statement called out the lack of transparency and “trickle” pace of prisoner releases over the past few weeks and underscored that while the freeing of those still detained “is urgent, the announcement of an amnesty should not be conceived, under any circumstances, as a pardon or act of clemency on the part of the State.”

“We recall that these people were arbitrarily imprisoned for exercising rights protected by international human rights instruments, the National Constitution, and Venezuelan laws,” the organization said.

Regina Garcia Cano, The Associated Press

Man attempts to break Luigi Mangione from prison by impersonating FBI agent: authorities.

Mark Anderson, 36, of Mankato, Minn., was arrested and charged with impersonating an FBI agent in a foiled bid to free Mangione from the Metropolitan Detention Center, the notorious Brooklyn lockup where he is held while awaiting state and federal murder trials in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

A criminal complaint filed against Anderson did not identify the person he attempted to free. A law enforcement official familiar with the matter confirmed it was Mangione. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity.

Anderson is expected to make an initial appearance Thursday in Brooklyn federal court. Online court records did not contain information on a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. A message seeking comment was left with a spokesperson for Mangione’s legal team.

According to the criminal complaint, Anderson approached the jail intake area around 6:50 p.m. Wednesday and told uniformed jail officers that he was an FBI agent in possession of paperwork “signed by a judge” authorizing the release of a specific person in custody at the jail.

When the officers asked for his federal credentials, Anderson showed the officers a Minnesota driver’s licence, threw numerous documents at them and claimed to have weapons, the criminal complaint said. Officers searched Anderson’s bag and found a barbecue fork and a circular steel blade which was said to resemble a small pizza cutter wheel, the complaint said.

Anderson had travelled to New York from Mankato, about 67 miles (107 kilometres) southwest of Minneapolis, and was working at a pizzeria after another job opportunity fell through, the law enforcement official said.

The attempt to free Mangione happened during a critical stretch in his legal cases.

Hours before Anderson’s arrest, the Manhattan district attorney’s office sent a letter urging the judge in Mangione’s state case, Gregory Carro, to set a July 1 trial date.

On Friday, Mangione will be in court for a conference in his federal case. The judge in that case, Margaret Garnett, is expected to rule soon whether prosecutors can seek the death penalty and whether they can use certain evidence against him.

Last week, Garnett scheduled jury selection in the federal case for Sept. 8, with the rest of the trial happening in October or January, depending on whether she allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

Mangione has pleaded not guilty in both cases. The state charges carry the possibility of life in prison.

A cause célèbre for people upset with the health insurance industry, Mangione has attracted legions of supporters, some of whom have regularly turned up at his court appearances. Some have donned green clothing, the colour worn by the Mario Bros. video game character Luigi, as a symbol of solidarity, and some have brought signs and shirts with slogans such as “Free Luigi” and “No Death For Luigi Mangione.”

Thompson, 50, was killed on Dec. 4, 2024, as he walked to a midtown Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference. Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind. Police say “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.

Mangione, a 27-year-old Ivy League graduate from a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles (about 370 km) west of Manhattan.

After several days of court proceedings in Pennsylvania, Mangione was whisked to New York and sent to the Metropolitan Detention Center.

The jail is also home to former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who are facing drug trafficking charges. Its former inmates include hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs and cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried.

Michael R. Sisak, The Associated Press

#MOSCOW, January 29. #Russia appreciates the contribution of the United Arab Emirates to the Ukraine peace process, especially providing a venue for talks, President Vladimir Putin told his UAE counterpart Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

He also said that the Kremlin is closely monitoring the development of the situation around Iran.

TASS has compiled the main statements of the two heads of state.
The Ukrainian settlement

Putin said that Russia is grateful to the UAE for its help on Ukraine: "I would especially like to note the efforts of the Emirati side in the context of the Ukrainian crisis. For its contribution to the exchange of detainees and assistance in organizing contacts in various forms on the territory of the United Arab Emirates."

Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan expressed gratitude to Putin for helping mediation efforts in Abu Dhabi between Moscow and Kiev on the exchange of prisoners of war: "This is a very important issue."
The situation in the Middle East

Russia considers it essential to create "a full-fledged Palestinian state that can coexist peacefully with Israel," Putin said.

According to the Russian leader, such a policy "will make it possible to achieve a sustainable settlement and ensure long-term stability in the region."

The head of state also said that the Kremlin is closely monitoring the development of the situation around Iran: "Of course, we are all closely following what is happening now on the Iranian track."
Relations between Russia and the UAE

According to Putin, the Russian-Emirati economic partnership is intensively developing on all tracks, and there are a number of significant initiatives in the energy sector: "The Emirates are an important trading partner for us in the Arab world. The bilateral trade turnover is steadily growing and developing."

Putin said Russia highly appreciates Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s personal contribution "to the promotion of the entire complex of the Russian-Emirati strategic partnership, which is multifaceted and mutually beneficial and is developing dynamically."

The UAE president noted that the country wants to strengthen relations with Russia: "We strive to strengthen relations [with Russia] and achieve the goals of [our] strategic partnership in the interests of both countries."

According to him, relations between Russia and the United Arab Emirates are based on a "deep legacy of fruitful cooperation" that has lasted for more than half a century.

#ICE appears to shift gears in Minnesota amid mixed messaging from #Trump.

Following weeks of daily clashes between protesters and immigration agents, spiked by the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens during such confrontations, senior Trump administration officials seemed to be recalibrating their approach.

A newly issued internal memo from a high-ranking Immigration and Customs Enforcement official directs federal officers to refrain from any unnecessary communication and engagement with “agitators” so as to avoid “inflaming the situation.”

The directive, reviewed by Reuters late on Wednesday, also orders ICE officers to only target immigrants who have records of criminal charges or convictions, a departure from earlier tactics that included randomly stopping people on the street to demand documented proof of legal U.S. residence or citizenship.

The substance of the memo seemed at odds with tough talk coming from Trump and some of his senior officials on Wednesday.

A day after sounding a conciliatory tone in his public remarks, the Republican president took to his Truth Social platform on Wednesday to warn that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, was “playing with fire” by continuing to insist that city authorities would play no role in enforcing federal immigration laws.
Rule of law?

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said federal agents had arrested 16 people on Wednesday in Minnesota for allegedly assaulting, resisting or impeding federal law enforcement.

“Nothing will stop us from continuing to make arrests and enforce the law,” Bondi wrote.

A federal judge in Minneapolis said on Wednesday that ICE was flouting the law by ignoring dozens of federal court orders during this month’s surge.

While cancelling a contempt-of-court hearing for acting ICE chief Todd Lyons - after the agency belatedly complied with an order to release a wrongly detained Ecuadorean man - U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz cited at least 96 federal court orders he said ICE has violated in 74 cases.

#MOSCOW, January 28. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said trilateral talks on the Ukrainian settlement in Abu Dhabi will resume on February 1, calling them ‘"highly complex."

Peskov also noted that by refusing to purchase Russian gas, EU countries condemn themselves to dependence on the United States.

TASS has compiled the key statements of the Kremlin spokesman.
About talks on Ukraine

Trilateral talks on the Ukrainian settlement in Abu Dhabi are scheduled to continue on February 1: "Negotiations are scheduled for February 1. This is tentative, but that’s the plan for now."

Members of the Russian delegation at the Ukraine peace talks in Abu Dhabi regularly receive instructions from President Vladimir Putin: "They receive them regularly, of course."

The negotiations in Abu Dhabi are highly complex: "These negotiations address a very sensitive topic. These are very complex talks. It would be detrimental to the negotiations to discuss specific details publicly during the process."

Russia will not discuss any specific documents on the Ukrainian settlement: "We aren’t discussing any lists of documents. We believe that everything should be done discreetly behind closed doors, which is what is happening now."
About EU’s ban on Russian gas

The EU’s refusal to purchase Russian gas is their choice: "By rejecting the most competitive Russian pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas — both integral to the global energy market — they are condemning themselves to reliance on a select few sources. Primarily, this means dependence on the United States.".

WASHINGTON, United States -- Rap icon Nicki Minaj declared Wednesday she was Donald Trump’s “number one fan,” adding that “hate” directed at the U.S. president made her support him more.

#Republican Trump called the provocative singer-songwriter up on stage after she announced her support for so-called “Trump Accounts,” which provide trust funds for children.

“I will say that I am probably the president’s number one fan, and that’s not going to change,” said Minaj, who wore a furry white coat as she embraced Trump and took the podium.

The self-proclaimed “Queen of Rap” is known for her shape-shifting musical and fashion styles -- but she has also radically modified her politics in recent years.

Previously a critic of Trump’s hardline immigration policies, Minaj has moved in recent years to praising his leadership.

In November she made a surprise appearance at the United Nations to call for an end to faith-based persecution in Nigeria, an allegation by the Trump administration which the government there denies.

Kim says North Korea soon to unveil ‘next-stage’ nuclear deterrent plans: KCNA. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has announced that his country’s next steps in developing its nuclear arsenal will be revealed at the upcoming ruling party congress, KCNA reported Wednesday.

The congress meeting “will clarify the next-stage plans for further bolstering up the country’s nuclear war deterrent,” Kim was quoted as saying as he oversaw a ballistic missile test on Tuesday.

North Korea is set to hold a landmark congress of its ruling party in the coming weeks, its first in five years.

KCNA said Kim, accompanied by senior North Korean officials, attended the test-firing of a “large-caliber” multiple rocket launcher that fired four missiles.

While acknowledging that development of the rocket launcher system had “not been plain sailing”, Kim said Tuesday’s test was “of great significance in improving the effectiveness of our strategic deterrent.”

The rockets “hit a target” in waters 358.5 kilometres (222.7 miles) away, according to the North Korean leader.

The ballistic missiles were fired toward the Sea of Japan, with two missiles landing outside the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone, Japanese state news agency Jiji Press had reported, citing defence ministry sources.

“The result and significance of this test will be a source of excruciating mental agony and serious threat to the forces that attempt to provoke a military confrontation with us,” Kim said.

Tokyo condemned Pyongyang for Tuesday’s missile test, saying it violated UN Security Council resolutions and was a threat to the peace and safety of the region as well as Japan, the Kyodo News Service reported.
Second test in January

The test was Pyongyang’s second of the month, following a salvo of missiles fired hours before South Korea’s leader headed to China for a summit.

It came a day after a high-level visit to Seoul by the Pentagon’s number three official, Elbridge Colby, who hailed South Korea as a “model ally”.

Ties between the United States and South Korea, longstanding treaty allies, were forged in the bloodshed of the Korean War (1950-53).

Washington still stations 28,500 troops in South Korea as a deterrent against the nuclear-armed North.

Pyongyang routinely denounces Washington and Seoul’s joint military drills as rehearsals for invasion.

Last month, Kim bashed Seoul’s push to develop its own nuclear-powered submarines with the United States, calling it a “threat” that “must be countered”.

During his first term, U.S. President Donald Trump met with Kim three times, in an effort to reach a denuclearization deal.

But since a summit in Hanoi fell through over differences about what Pyongyang would get in return for giving up its nuclear weapons, no progress has been made between the two countries.

Trump had expressed hopes for a meeting with Kim ahead of a regional summit in South Korea in October 2025, but these went unanswered by the North Korean leader.

A federal judge has blocked the possible deportation of a 5-year-old and his father for now.


(CNN) — A Minnesota preschooler detained in Texas with his father cannot be imminently deported, a federal judge ruled Monday.

Liam Conejo Ramos, 5, was taken away from his family’s suburban Minneapolis driveway last week after federal agents apprehended his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias.

The detention of the child — and a widely-circulated photo of an agent holding a fearful Liam in place by his Spider-Man backpack — has added to the fury of those who are resisting the Trump administration’s massive immigration crackdown in Minnesota, where federal agents have swept up several children and teens.

The Department of Homeland Security claimed Liam’s father is an “illegal alien” from Ecuador and said agents took the boy with them after the father said he wanted Liam to stay with him.

But an attorney for Liam’s family said Conejo committed no crimes and followed “all the established protocols” for legally seeking asylum in the US, including “showing up for their court hearings.”

Liam and his dad were flown across the country to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas — an ICE detention facility for families.

The father has filed a lawsuit against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, US Attorney General Pam Bondi and other federal officials.

On Monday, a federal judge ruled “that any possible or anticipated removal or transfer of Petitioners Adrian Conejo Arias and L.C.R., a minor child, is IMMEDIATELY STAYED until further order from this Court,” a court document states.

In addition, federal officials “SHALL NOT TRANSFER Petitioners Adrian Conejo Arias and L.C.R., a minor child, outside of this judicial district during the pendency of this litigation and until further Order of this Court,” the ruling says.

CNN has reached out to an attorney for the family and DHS for comment.

Liam and his father were apprehended outside their home in Columbia Heights as they returned from the boy’s preschool. DHS officials have said they had no choice but to take him, saying his mother refused to open the door and let Liam in the house.

Family friends and school administrators have pushed back on that account.

The mother, who is pregnant and also has a teenage son, was “terrified” of the agents, said Pastor Sergio Amezcua, who has been helping the mother since her husband and son were detained.

“ICE agents were trying to use the baby to get her to come out of her house, but the neighbors … advised her not to do it,” fearing she would be detained, Amezcua said.

Zena Stenvik, superintendent of the school district in Columbia Heights, said agents led Liam to the door of his home “and directed him to knock on the door, asking to be let in, in order to see if anyone else was home — essentially using a 5-year-old as bait,” Stenvik said.

ICE has responded, saying it “did not, and has never, ‘used a child as bait.’”

Federal officials also said they took the boy with them after his father told officers he wanted the child to remain with him.

Liam was a “PreK 4” student at Valley View Elementary in Minnesota before he was taken to Texas.

In the past month, at least three other children from Liam’s school district have also been taken away by ICE agents, Columbia Heights Public Schools said.

Another case, in which a 2-year-old girl was detained, bears striking similarities to Liam’s case. That toddler was taken into ICE custody with her father in Minneapolis last week and flown to Texas despite a court order requiring her immediate release, a family lawyer has said. Within a day, she was returned home to her mother, though her father, Elvis Tipan-Echeverria, remained in custody.

This story has been updated with additional information.

Holly Yan, CNN