Ukrainian Intelligence Service: Moldovan citizen reportedly recruited by Russian Army after Russian authorities ordered is expulsion

A citizen of Moldova, 46-year-old Victor Tabârță, has been allegedly forced to choose between deportation from Russia and signing a contract with the Russian army after the Russian authorities accused him of staying illegally on the country’s territory, the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine (GUR) said. According to the Ukrainian intelligence service, the man was later sent to the front in Ukraine and died in the Kharkiv region.

According to GUR, on March 18, 2026, Victor Tabârță, born on January 11, 1980, allegedly received a decision on his illegal stay in Russia, issued by law enforcement officers in the city of Dankov, Lipetsk region. He was reportedly fined 5,000 rubles and informed that he was to be expelled from Russia.

The man was placed in a special center for migrants, where he was allegedly given the option to choose between deportation and signing a contract with the Russian army. According to the same source, Tabârță is said to have chosen to sign the contract.

The contract was signed on April 28, 2026, after which the Moldovan citizen was reportedly sent to a training center. In the first half of May, he arrived at the front in Ukraine, and in June he was allegedly killed in the Kharkiv region, GUR says.

The Ukrainian institution also claims that Victor Tabârță had vision impairments in one eye. His family is said to live in the city of Lipetsk, namely his wife and daughter born in 2007, both of whom are, according to GUR, citizens of the Russian Federation.

GUR says that, according to data from the Ukrainian project “I Want to Live” (“Хочу жить”), Russia has allegedly illegally recruited at least 857 citizens of the Republic of Moldova to participate in the war against Ukraine. Of these, the Ukrainian service claims that the deaths of 81 people have been confirmed, while another eight are believed to be in captivity.

In the context, GUR recommends that foreign citizens who are participating in the war on Russia’s side surrender voluntarily to Ukrainian forces, presenting this option as a way to save their lives.

The Moldovan authorities have repeatedly issued warnings over time regarding the risk that citizens of Moldova might be lured or forced to enlist in the Russian army.