President Volodymyr Zelensky held his first conversation with Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori since her inauguration in late July, thanking her for confirming that Lima’s condemnation of Russia’s war against Ukraine remains unchanged.
In a statement published on Thursday, Sept. 3, Zelensky announced that the two discussed Ukraine’s drone technology, along with efforts needed in order to deepen trade between the two countries.
“We agreed to continue the dialogue both between our teams and personally,” Zelensky said, adding that “the destruction of human life must be condemned equally in every part of the world.”
Fujimori, a conservative figure who took office as Peru’s president after a fourth presidential run, is the daughter of former authoritarian leader Alberto Fujimori, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for crimes against humanity.
Peru’s diplomatic stance on Russia’s war
According to Peru Reports on March 2, 2022, Peru joined 140 other nations at a special session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to condemn Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
However, despite maintaining its position against Russia’s aggression, the country has also held longstanding trade ties with Russia, particularly in agricultural exports.
According to a report from FreshFruit, a local company that analyzes Peru’s agricultural export sector, Peruvian produce exports to Russia grew by 28% percent in the five years leading up to 2022, making Russia the country’s 12th largest agricultural export market.
Around the same time, Peru’s former Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister Roberto Sánchez said that exports to Russia represented about 0.4% of Peru’s total exports, which reached $56 billion in 2021, according to a local media outlet Andina.
Peruvians recruited into Russia’s war
Peru’s diplomatic relationship with Russia has grown increasingly strained due to a Russian recruitment scheme in which hundreds of Peruvians, including former soldiers and police officers, have been tricked into enlistment.
Peruvian civilians are reportedly lured into this human trafficking scheme with promises of jobs in construction, logistics and security services, rather than combat roles.
On Aug. 10, Mezha reported that Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had identified at least 459 Peruvian citizens recruited into the Russian military, with 11 confirmed deaths and 114 people listed as missing.
Ukrainian forces have captured three Peruvian citizens who fought on Russia’s side, according to the report. Peru’s foreign ministry also confirmed the evacuation of 31 citizens, of whom 28 returned home and three remained in Europe.
In May, Peru’s Attorney General’s Office launched an investigation into a human trafficking network targeting the country’s citizens for recruitment into the Russian military.
Peru, however, is not the only country facing this issues.
According to Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR), Russia has recruited nearly 3,000 citizens from across Africa – including Kenya, Egypt, and Nigeria – often deploying them as assault troops with minimal training.
In some cases, Russian commanders have used physical violence and intimidation to force reluctant foreign recruits into high-risk operations.
Russia also heavily relies on North Korean troops, with Zelensky warning in early August that the country plans to station between 30,000 and 50,000 troops in Russia. The two countries signed a defense pact in June 2024, with Pyongyang deploying troops to Russia’s Kursk region in October of the same year to help Moscow recapture lost territories.
As of Aug. 27, Russia is believed to be preparing for a new mobilization wave that could bring 600,000 additional troops into the war effort across 2026–2027.