Abdumutalib Ayubov, a native of Tajikistan, was killed in combat just one week after being conscripted into Russia’s war against Ukraine. According to local sources, Ayubov, who had lived in Russia for several years and was previously sentenced after being involved in a fatal car accident, was recruited to fight for Russia shortly before his death. He was 27 years old.
Ayubov was buried on November 3 in his hometown of Basmanda, located in the Devashtich district of the Sughd province.
Attempts by Asia-Plus to reach his relatives for comment were unsuccessful, as his father did not respond to calls. However, the head of the village and neighbors provided some details about his life.
Hayatullo Ghafourov, the head of Basmanda, shared information from Ayubov's relatives, noting that after finishing school, he went abroad to work, but recently ended up in prison. "He was involved in a car accident in which someone died. However, I don’t know when this happened or how long he was sentenced," Ghafourov said.
He further mentioned that, according to relatives, Ayubov was sent to war just a week before his imprisonment. "They promised him that he would be released if he signed a contract to participate in the war. He believed them and signed the contract, and the next day we received news of his death," Ghafourov explained.
Farhod Mavlonov, a teacher at School No. 7 in Basmanda, where Ayubov studied, recalled that during his school years, Ayubov had no legal troubles. "Life forced him to go abroad for work. I don’t know what exactly happened, but we buried Abdumutalib just yesterday," he said.
Some neighbors mentioned that after graduating and starting work abroad, Ayubov returned to his village only once in 7-8 years, and no one had seen him since.
"His parents divorced, and Abdumutalib grew up with his mother. He was a good boy, and his death shocked us," one neighbor shared.
Nearly 1,000 Tajik nationals signed contracts to fight in Ukraine
The Tajikistani government has not officially commented on the death of its citizen in the ongoing war in Ukraine. Russian authorities also typically withhold details about soldiers killed in action, including their identities.
Abdumutalib Ayubov is not the first Tajik national to die in the conflict. In late September, media outlets reported the death of Islamiddin Rahmatov, a 23-year-old from Tajikistan. Sumaya Saidova, Rahmatov's widow, who has since returned to Tajikistan, told Asia-Plus how her husband signed a contract with the Russian army and was killed in combat.
Other cases have emerged where Tajik citizens have enlisted with the Russian military in exchange for substantial payments, citizenship, or the hope of being released from prison.
The Ukrainian state initiative "I Want to Live," which tracks statistics on foreign nationals fighting in the war, published a list in April of 931 Tajik nationals who signed contracts with the Russian military and are now fighting in Ukraine. According to the initiative, 196 of them have been killed.
The Tajikistani government has not commented on the published list. As of June 2024, Russia's Investigative Committee reported that over 10,000 migrant workers who obtained Russian citizenship have been sent to fight in Ukraine.
