Individuals were “recruited through deceptive job offers to work as security agents and in other roles” in Russia, “with the promise of financial compensation”, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Friday. The investigation will focus on the alleged crimes of “human trafficking” and “aggravated human trafficking”, it added.

Percy Salinas, a lawyer representing families of people who ended up on the front lines in Ukraine, told the local TV channel N that 13 Peruvians have died in the war so far, according to the AFP news agency. He said individuals were reportedly offered monthly salaries of between USD 2,000 and USD 3,000, and that an estimated 600 Peruvians have been lured since last October to fight for Russia.

In a statement released on Thursday, Moscow’s embassy in Lima acknowledged that Peruvians had signed contracts to join the Russian armed forces. Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had asked the Russian embassy to clarify the situation and provide information about the location and wellbeing of citizens serving in the Russian military. The ministry noted that Peruvians are required to seek permission before serving in a foreign military.

Families of some of the victims—who say their relatives were recruited under false pretences—protested outside the ministry in Lima on Thursday, demanding that their loved ones be repatriated. Peru is the latest country to raise concerns about the deceptive recruitment of foreign nationals to fight in Ukraine.

More than 1,780 citizens from 36 African countries are believed to be fighting alongside Russian forces, according to Ukrainian estimates from February. Russia has also previously acknowledged enlisting soldiers from North Korea, thousands of whom are estimated to have been killed or wounded in battle, as part of a military pact between Moscow and Pyongyang. (Aljazeera)