Kemlu verifies report of WNI killed after Russia recruitment
Ukraina said the man signed a one-year contract on April 19, 2026, and was killed in his first battle in Donetsk.
The Foreign Ministry is verifying reports that an Indonesian citizen was killed after allegedly being recruited into the Russian military and sent to fight in Ukraina. Foreign Ministry spokesman Yvonne Mewengkang said the Indonesian Embassy in Moscow is still checking the person’s identity and status, while urging the public not to speculate before the verification is completed. Ukraina’s Defense Intelligence identified the man as Taufiq Muhammad, born in Sorong on May 22, 1978, and living in Surabaya. According to Ukraina, he previously worked as a taxi driver in Jakarta, signed a one-year contract in Korolyov near Moscow on April 19, 2026, and was assigned as a machine gunner. He was said to have been killed almost immediately in his first battle as Russian forces moved from Zelena Dolyna toward Novoselivka and Drobysheve in Donetsk.