An advertisement with the recruitment of Belarusian citizens to the war with Ukraine as part of the Russian troops appeared on the Russian social network “Vkontakte”. A targeted post aimed at Belarusian users of the social network was noticed by the “Flagshtok” on May 23.
The advertising page is called “Contract Service”, the official Belarusian coat of arms is used as the logo. The page calls on Belarusians to help “neighbors in the fight against the enemy.” They promise to pay 450 thousand Russian rubles (about 5 thousand dollars) once for signing the contract.
The link in the message leads to the recruitment center of the administration of one of the regions of the Russian Federation neighboring Belarus, where there is also a section for foreign citizens. According to journalists, in this way the region is trying to fulfill the norm of recruiting contract workers at the expense of Belarusians.
According to the current legislation, recruitment for participation in armed conflicts or military operations, as well as mercenary activities are criminal offenses: Articles 132 (up to 15 years in prison) and 133 of the Criminal Code of Belarus (up to 7 years in prison), respectively.
