“They told me I would work in construction” – A young man recruited into the Russian army stepped on a mine at the front and lost his fingers
A young man from Quvasoy was initially sentenced to 1.5 years in prison in Russia for driving a vehicle without documents. He was then sent from prison to the front lines under the deception of working in construction in the occupied territories of Ukraine. While evacuating wounded soldiers from the battlefield, he stepped on a buried landmine. As a result, the toes on his right foot were severed.
“They told me I would work in construction” – Young man recruited into the Russian army stepped on a mine at the front and lost his toes
In Fergana, criminal punishment was applied to a man recruited into the Russian army.
According to the court verdict, 29-year-old Z.T. had been traveling to Russia for seasonal work since 2019. In the spring of 2023, at the suggestion of his neighbor, he went to the city of Moscow and worked as a delivery driver. In June 2024, he was convicted of driving a vehicle without documents and sentenced to 1.5 years of deprivation of liberty.
While serving his sentence, he was offered to work in construction in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. In exchange, he was promised that the punishment would not be applied.
Z.T. agreed to this proposal. However, he was taken to the front, not to construction.
Z.T. stated in court that they made him sign a contract through deception.
About 500 migrants were taken near the city of Sudzha in the Kursk region. There, they made us sign a contract to participate in the war between Russia and Ukraine, not for construction
After that, Z.T. participated in the battles under the call sign "Python". He served as a private in a group that evacuated wounded and deceased soldiers from the battlefield.
On December 25, 2024, while evacuating wounded soldiers with 4 of my comrades, I accidentally stepped on a landmine buried in the ground. The mine exploded, and the toes of my right foot were blown off
He was then sent to a military hospital. He was treated there for 7 months. During this time, Z.T. was granted Russian citizenship, awarded a medal, and provided with a prosthetic foot.
In April 2026, Z.T. went to the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Moscow and stated that he had lost his citizen's passport. Then, on April 30, he returned to Uzbekistan with a certificate of return to the homeland.
By the verdict of the Kuvasoy City Court on Criminal Cases, Z.T. was found guilty of committing the crime stipulated in Part 1 of Article 154 (Mercenarism) of the Criminal Code. Applying Article 57 of the Criminal Code, he was sentenced to 4 years of restriction of liberty.