Dominican Republic Seeks 22 Citizens in Russia’s War
MIGRATION · DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Key Facts
- —The country The Dominican Republic is a close US partner in the Caribbean, with large family ties to New York, New Jersey and Florida.
- —Why it matters Russia’s hunt for foreign recruits for its war in Ukraine has reached a Caribbean ally of Washington, through job offers that families call a trap.
- —Why now Relatives camped outside Congress since Monday 5 October say some of the men were told they would be sent to the front this Sunday.
- —What happened Foreign Minister Víctor Bisonó said on Friday 9 October that the government now has 22 formally registered cases, up from 20.
- —What it means for you Job offers for Russia that arrive through social media or middlemen are the warning sign. The foreign ministry runs help lines for families.
- —Still open Moscow has not said how many Dominicans serve in its forces, or whether any will be allowed to leave their contracts.
The Dominican government says at least 22 of its citizens are caught up in Russia’s war in Ukraine, after travelling on offers of civilian work. Their families have spent a week camped outside the National Congress in Santo Domingo. The case of the Dominicans in Russia shows how far Moscow’s search for foreign soldiers now reaches into Washington’s own neighbourhood.
Foreign Minister Víctor “Ito” Bisonó, who leads the country’s diplomacy under President Luis Abinader, called the situation one of “extreme gravity”. He said lives were in real danger, according to remarks reported on Friday 9 October by the newspaper Listín Diario and the outlet AlMomento.
Bisonó said the government had identified 22 formally registered cases. They rest on complaints from relatives, accounts from people who came home and reports from men still in Russia. Two days earlier the ministry had put the figure at 20.
Families Say Their Sons Went for Jobs
The relatives’ stories follow a similar line. A man is offered technical or security work abroad, signs papers he cannot read, and ends up in military training.
Jacqueline Félix told the newspaper Hoy that her son, Maicol Enrique Campusano Félix, 33, left the country on 19 August. He is a publicist, she said, but was told he would work as a mechanic, and the job was first described as being in Panama.
She said he is now training in Russia and has asked her for help to get out. “They call us to say they will be sent to the war on Sunday,” she said in the interview published on Sunday 11 October. That claim has not been independently confirmed.
Trinidad Campusano told Hoy that her brother Héctor, 52, travelled for a job welding trucks. He already had problems with his spine and a leg, she said, and was taken to training limping.
The relatives have stayed outside Congress since Monday 5 October, through sun and rain. They want the government to bring the men home.
What Santo Domingo and Moscow Say
The foreign ministry, known as MIREX, said in a statement on Wednesday 7 October that it had warned the public about such offers since 24 September. It said the men had signed individual contracts on Russian soil.
Some of them, and their families, told the ministry that what they found did not match the work they had been promised. MIREX said it offers consular help regardless, including locating people and supporting a return home.
Bisonó raised the issue with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on 24 September in New York, during the UN General Assembly. On Tuesday 6 October two deputy ministers, Francisco Caraballo Núñez and Opinio Díaz, handed files on 20 citizens to Russia’s ambassador, Sergei Seredin.
Seredin had given a different picture a day earlier. In a television interview reported by the newspaper El Día, he said his embassy had received only e-mails without enough information, and no formal requests. He said Russian law allows foreigners to enlist and that “Russia considers these volunteers heroes.”
He also used the interview to call US sanctions on Russia “illegal” and harmful to the global economy, and to criticise the US embargo on Cuba.
Bisonó admitted the limits of his position. Because the men signed contracts as private individuals, he said, the state’s room to act is narrow. He said Lavrov had promised help in reviewing the contracts signed by Dominicans and other Latin Americans.
A Veteran’s Account From the Front
The digital outlet N Digital published the testimony of a Dominican, 46, who fought in Iraq and is now in Russia. He said he was hired to train Latin American staff in hospital and government security.
He told the outlet that his passport was taken on arrival and that he signed documents without a translator. About ten days later, he said, he was sent to the front in Donetsk, in occupied eastern Ukraine.
He called the war crueller than Iraq, where the Dominican Republic sent 602 troops in 2003 and 2004. He said he knows more than 20 compatriots in the conflict, many drawn by bonuses of up to US$20,000. His account cannot be independently verified.
N Digital also cited the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), a Paris-based rights group. It estimates that at least 27,000 people from more than 130 countries have been recruited by Russia’s forces since February 2022.
The Dominicans in Russia are not an isolated case. Peru has prosecuted an alleged recruiter, as in Peru Court Holds Alleged Russia Recruiter 14 Months, and Kenya has counted its losses in Kenya Says 84 Citizens Dead or Missing in Russia’s War.
What It Means for You
For US readers with Dominican relatives, the lesson is practical. MIREX advises checking any job offer, the employer’s identity and the contract terms, above all when the deal runs only through digital channels or unverified middlemen.
Families can contact the Dominican embassy in Moscow or the ministry’s citizen protection office in Santo Domingo, whose numbers are on the MIREX website. Travel to the Dominican Republic itself is not affected.
The case also lands in a week when Washington is grading the region on trafficking. The US State Department’s 2026 report placed the country in Tier 2, as covered in Dominican Republic Stays Tier 2 on US Trafficking List.
What Is Not Known
Russia has not said how many Dominicans are serving, or in which units. It is not known whether any of the 22 has been wounded or killed.
It is unclear whether Moscow will release men who say they were deceived, or whether they would face desertion charges if they leave. Nobody has publicly named the recruiters behind the offers, and no Dominican prosecution has been announced.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Dominicans in Russia are involved?
The foreign minister said on 9 October that the government has 22 formally registered cases. Relatives and one recruit say the real number may be higher.
Did the men sign up to fight?
They signed individual contracts in Russia, according to the foreign ministry. Families say the men travelled for civilian jobs and did not agree to combat.
What has the Dominican government done?
It raised the issue with Russia’s foreign minister, gave files on 20 citizens to Russia’s ambassador and opened help lines for families.
Sources: MIREX (7 October); MIREX warning; Listín Diario; AlMomento; Hoy (11 October); Hoy (9 October); El Día; N Digital.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error
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