Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on amending the law on the issuance of Russian citizenship to foreigners and stateless persons. According to these amendments, now they can obtain the citizenship of the country in a simplified manner after concluding a contract for military service. The same rule applies to their family members.
At the same time, the document specifies that it applies not only to those who have signed a contract with the RF Armed Forces, but also to those who have signed a contract with certain "military formations." The lines stating that the service will take place in territories where there are “authorized territorial bodies” of the RF Ministry of Defense have been removed from the law.
Earlier, Radio Liberty reported that the Russian authorities are making active attempts to recruit citizens of Central Asian countries to send them to war in Ukraine. So, near the migration center in Sakharovo, posters appeared in Tajik, Uzbek and Kyrgyz, calling for contract service in the Russian troops. One of the Tajiks told RS that after submitting an application, a person is “taken to another room”, where they are persuaded to go to Ukraine.
On September 20, 2022, the Moscow City Hall announced that “infrastructure to assist” the Russian Ministry of Defense would be deployed in Sakharovo, which would help “in organizing the entry of foreign citizens into the military service.”