Officials in Kazakhstan's northern region of Qostanai, home to a large ethnic Russian population, say they uncovered online efforts to recruit local residents to the Russian armed forces involved in the Kremlin's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The regional Prosecutor's Office issued a statement late on June 29 reminding that participation of the Central Asian nation's citizens in military conflicts abroad is punishable by Kazakh law. The statement came amid reports of Kazakh citizens fighting on both sides in Ukraine. Kazakhstan has not recognized the Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine as Russian territories. To read the original story of RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.
Officials In Kazakhstan's North Say Efforts To Recruit Locals To Russian Armed Forces In Ukraine Uncovered
Kazakh civic activist Marat Turymbetov lays flowers on a monument to Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko in the Kazakh city of Almaty on February 24.