Indian Labor Migration to Russia Up 22-Fold, Kyiv Says

Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU) said Saturday that the number of Indian laborers in Russia has surged 22-fold over the past five years amid a persistent labor shortage.

The agency added that North Korea has also become a major source of new workers for Russia as discriminatory policies against Central Asian migrants – which make up the majority of Russia’s foreign labor since the 1990s – continue despite the shortage.

The SZRU, in a press release, said “entries for work purposes” for Indians rose from 813 in 2020 to 17,700 in 2025, suggesting the boost was prompted by labor shortage, “especially in construction, industry and agriculture.”

“About 150,000 workers leave the Russian agro-industrial complex alone every year,” the SZRU wrote.

It added that Russia has turned its focus to South Asia “after imposing restrictions on migrants from CIS countries,” referring to the Moscow-led Commonwealth of Independent States, which includes post-Soviet nations such as Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Those restrictions were likely exacerbated by the Moscow Crocus concert hall terrorist attack in March 2024, carried out by Islamic extremists from Central Asia.

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin reiterated his concerns over migrants after a visit to Tajikistan, saying that while Russia needs foreign workers, they must be law-abiding citizens, according to Russian state media RIA Novosti.

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As a result, the SZRU said the number of Indians approved for work visas in Russia could double by 2025 compared to the previous year, with 71,800 quotas already allocated out of a total of 234,900 annually.

Russia is also looking at migrants from Nepal, Vietnam and Bangladesh, according to the SZRU.

The findings come amid renewed reports of Indians captured while fighting for Russian forces, with one alleging he was coerced after initially traveling to Russia for studies.

India had earlier dismantled recruitment networks trafficking its citizens to fight for Moscow, but New Delhi has since warmed relations with Russia following US tariffs over its oil purchases.

North Korea’s ‘legalized labor slavery’

The SZRU also accused Moscow of violating UN sanctions by using North Korean workers, adding that the migrants work under conditions akin to modern-day slavery.

“Thousands of them enter the Russian Federation under the guise of students, supposedly undergoing internships, but in fact work in inhumane conditions,” the SZRU wrote.

“This is a direct violation of UN sanctions, which Russia itself signed,” it added, referring to the UN Security Council Resolution 2397 that requires member states to “repatriate all [North Korean] nationals earning income.”

The SZRU said the migrant workers often work long hours, with Pyongyang and Russian companies splitting over their income.

“Koreans work six days a week, sometimes up to 20 hours a day, and their salaries are divided between the DPRK authorities and Russian companies,” it added.

The working conditions were corroborated by a BBC report in August that interviewed North Korean workers who fled Russia.

In May, Pyongyang reportedly sent 15,000 workers to Russia as ties between North Korea and Russia deepened following the signing of a mutual defense pact in 2024, which saw North Korea sending troops to aid Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in exchange for presumably material and technological aid.