Moldovan Citizen Killed in Ukraine After Russia Forced Him to Fight Under Threat of Deportation

A Moldovan citizen signed a contract with the Russian army under threat of deportation and was killed during an assault in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence reported on this.

In March, Russian security forces in the city of Dankov, Lipetsk region, issued 46-year-old Victor Tabirtsa an order stating that he was illegally staying in Russia.

Although his wife and daughter, both Russian citizens, live in Lipetsk, authorities fined the Moldovan man RUB 5,000 ($65) and ordered him to leave the country.

The man was subsequently placed in a detention center for migrants, where he was given a choice: deportation or signing a contract with the Russian army. The man, who was blind in one eye, chose to sign the contract and was sent to a training center at the end of April.

In May, he was sent to the front, and in June, the migrant was killed during an assault in the Kharkiv region.

According to the I Want to Live project, Russia has illegally recruited at least 857 Moldovan citizens to fight against Ukraine. The deaths of 81 of them have been confirmed, while another eight are being held in captivity.