The Embassy of Uzbekistan in Russia responded to the Uzbek diaspora in Russia, whose members were going to go to war in Ukraine to fight on the side of Russia. The ministry recalled that mercenarism in Uzbekistan is punishable by law.
On August 9, the leader of the "Society of Central Asian Uzbeks of the Perm Territory" Jahongir Jalolov proposed to go to war. He stated that Uzbeks who live and work in Russia plan to create a volunteer detachment:
“Our children attend kindergartens, study at schools and universities. We live and work in Russia. We not only have to, we are obliged to justify the bread that we eat. I propose to form a volunteer battalion and call it the great name of Amir Timur. And support Russia's special military operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine."
The Embassy of Uzbekistan published its response the next day:
“The Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the Russian Federation warns compatriots against creating volunteer battalions and / or participating in hostilities on the territory of foreign states for which criminal liability has been established. The diplomatic mission informs that according to Art. 154 “mercenarism” of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the crime is unlawful participation in armed conflicts or military operations on the territory of a foreign state.”
The Uzbek authorities warned their citizens about the danger of being at war in Ukraine at the end of July. Shortly before this, it became known that the Wagner PMC was recruiting citizens of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan for the war in Ukraine under the guise of hiring in private security companies. As journalists from MediaHub found out, when they try to get a job, they are told that there are no more places in the private security company, and they are offered another job – “performing tasks in the special operation zone in Ukraine” for 240 thousand rubles a month.
