On 11 July 2025, Ahmed Saleem* boarded a flight from Jordan to Russia. He was chasing what looked like a dream job.

A man in his fifties, Saleem had received an offer on Telegram that promised non-combat work with the Russian Ministry of Defence.

The recruiter - a Russian woman named Polina Alexandrovna - offered him a monthly salary of 200,000 roubles (around $2,000), Russian citizenship, and work under a private company.

But when he landed in the Russian city of Bryansk, the reality hit.

He wasn’t hired for catering or logistics. Instead, Saleem was forced into the “International elite battalion”, a foreign mercenary unit fighting on the frontlines of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Saleem’s wife, Muna*, said he was told he had no choice but to sign military contracts written in Russian once he arrived there, without a translator, internet or legal advice.

“He was driven for hours, then forced to sign 21 documents. He had no idea what they said,” she told MEE. “He was threatened with losing his financial rights if he refused.”

The papers, it turned out, signed him up as a frontline fighter. Not support staff. Not logistics. Combat.