Azerbaijani citizen forcibly sent to war in Ukraine by Russia Photo

28 January 2026 20:14

New details have emerged regarding Azerbaijani citizens working in Russia who are being forcibly sent to fight in the ongoing war in Ukraine.

According to information obtained by APA, Azerbaijani citizen Tahir Rufullayev, born in 1980, was forcibly sent by the Russian side to the war in Ukraine in January 2026, Caliber.Az reports.

Tahir Rufullayev’s mother, Sonabayim Farziyeva, told APA that her son secretly contacted her on January 15 and informed her that he was being taken to the war.

“I am an elderly woman; when it rains, water leaks into my home from the roof. My son worked as a car mechanic in Bilasuvar. In order to improve our financial situation and repair the roof covering of the house, he went to Russia, to Voronezh, to work about two years ago.”

According to her, Rufullayev initially went to Russia for temporary work but later found himself in an illegal situation.

“My son had gone to Russia to work for three months. Later, the validity of his documents for staying there expired, and since he did not know the Russian language and it was not possible to fix his documents, he continued working informally. He had been living in Russia without documents for about two years.”

Farziyeva stated that her son was detained by Russian police some time ago and was given a choice between imprisonment or being sent to war.

“He was told that either he would be sent to war within the ranks of the Russian army, or he would be sentenced to 20–25 years in prison.”

She also claimed that he was threatened with fabricated criminal charges.

“They also threatened to arrest him on drug-related charges. However, my son is neither a drug user nor a smoker.”

According to Farziyeva, her son was subjected to physical abuse and held in detention for months.

“My son told me that the police officers who detained him receive a certain amount of money for each detained Azerbaijani. My son was subjected to physical pressure and torture there. He was held for about three months at the police station and in unknown locations. In the end, through torture and coercion, they sent him to the war.”

Farziyeva said that legal proceedings were expected to determine her son’s fate, but those hearings never resulted in a verdict. According to her, the first court hearing, scheduled for December 22, 2025, did not take place. The second court hearing was set for January 24, 2026.

"During that period, we expected that my son would either be imprisoned or deported. But on January 15, my son was forcibly sent to the war," she added.

The mother said her last contact with her son was a brief and distressing call made under secretive circumstances.

“In mid-month, he called me using the phone of a driver who was there. He said that there were also several Azerbaijanis in that place. He made a short video call—he couldn’t speak, he only gestured with his hand to show that he was being taken under torture.”

Farziyeva appealed to Azerbaijani authorities for assistance.

“Regarding this matter, I am asking the state for help. Please, help me. My son is an Azerbaijani citizen, from the Bilasuvar district. He is married and has a daughter and a son. As a mother, I want my child to be brought back.”