In a picture distributed by Kyrgyzstan’s National Security Committee following his arrest, Askar Kubanychbek-uulu can be seen posing for a selfie sporting a baseball cap and military fatigues.
Next to him is another man wearing the blue-and-white-striped “telnyashka” undershirt widely associated with the Russian military.
The photo was likely taken in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian region of Luhansk after the Kyrgyz citizen signed up to fight in Moscow’s war in Ukraine in the summer of 2022.
Kubanychbek-uulu is presently far away from the front line, serving a 10-year sentence in a penitentiary in Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek, on charges of being a mercenary.
But after Russian officials publicly objected to the court decision — and even acknowledged they were considering granting Kubanychbek-uulu citizenship post-factum — pressure is building on Moscow’s dependent Central Asian ally to reverse course.
Valentina Chupik, an expert on migrant rights in Russia, told RFE/RL that the 31-year-old’s case was significant insofar as it is the only instance of a Central Asian receiving “deserved punishment” in his homeland for joining Russia’s war in Ukraine since Moscow launched its brutal, full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Source : RFE
