Kazakhstan's Consul Met with Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for Prisoners of War

Astana has pledged to monitor investigations and launch public awareness, Orda.kz reports.

In response to a recently published list naming Kazakhstanis allegedly involved in the conflict on the Russian side, Kazakhstan’s consul in Ukraine, Baurzhan Begalimov, met with representatives of Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for Prisoners of War. The sides discussed the broader issue of foreign nationals joining Russian military operations and potential measures to curb this trend.

Kazakh diplomats — Consul Begalimov and Chargé d’Affaires Ermek Katrenov — reassured their Ukrainian counterparts that Astana is monitoring the situation closely and will track each case involving citizens participating in military operations on Ukrainian territory.

They also expressed Kazakhstan’s willingness to cooperate with Ukrainian authorities and to run public information campaigns aimed at dissuading its citizens from joining foreign conflicts.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has previously urged foreign nationals not to allow themselves to be recruited by Russian forces, and encouraged those who feel coerced to contact the "I Want to Live" project.

This Ukrainian initiative assists soldiers and mercenaries in surrendering or escaping combat zones.

On April 1, the “I Want to Live” center released a list of Kazakhstan citizens said to be fighting or to have fought with the Russian armed forces.

Meanwhile, VKontakte has displayed ads offering up to 3.5 million rubles to sign a contract with the Russian military. 

Original Author: Ruslan Loginov