In recent months, the intensification of Ukraine’s long-range strikes inside Russia has increasingly impacted foreign workers employed there, drawing attention to a vulnerable population caught between the conflict’s front lines and its expanding reach.

Ramaya Anjarana, a 29-year-old steel fitter from India, was among those killed in May during a Ukrainian attack on an oil refinery near Moscow where he worked. Anjarana was struck by blast debris while gathering with colleagues after a shift, suffering a fatal head injury, according to Vasudev Reddy, chief executive of Mycon Engineering, the Indian recruiting firm that had placed him. Several other Indian laborers were injured in the same attack. Anjarana’s decision to work in Russia was motivated by better wages, more than double what he could earn at home, which he intended to use to pay off family debts. Many Indian workers, like him, were initially drawn to Russia by labor shortages, with assurances from friends or relatives that conditions were safe despite the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Since early 2023, Ukraine has increasingly used drones and missiles to target critical infrastructure deep within Russia, including oil refineries, warehouses, and industrial facilities often located hundreds of miles from active combat zones. Some foreign workers from countries such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka, and several African nations have been killed or wounded in these strikes. For example, in August, an attack on an oil refinery and industrial area in Tatarstan, about 550 miles east of Moscow, resulted in the deaths of eight Uzbek citizens and one Tajik citizen. Earlier, in July, a Tajik worker died during a strike on a warehouse operated by Wildberries, one of Russia’s largest e-commerce companies.

These developments have added new layers of risk for foreign laborers, many of whom are employed in sectors that have become frequent targets due to their strategic importance. The arrival of workers from countries such as India, China, and North Korea has shifted the composition of Russia’s migrant workforce amid a backdrop of tighter controls and an anti-migrant backlash, particularly against Central Asian migrants. This backlash intensified following a 2024 attack in Moscow’s Crocus City Hall by Tajiks linked to the Islamic State, which killed 151 people and led to stricter regulations and increased departures from Russia by some migrants.

The war’s impact on foreign workers is further underscored by a tragic incident in Sofino, a town about 20 miles outside Moscow, where a Ukrainian drone strike on September 20 damaged a warehouse and nearby residential buildings. A local family from Tajikistan, Delnoz and Umedjon Yusupov, both warehouse workers, were killed along with injuries to their two children. The attack occurred on the same day as Russia’s parliamentary election, highlighting the conflict’s ongoing reach into civilian areas.

While Russia’s strikes in Ukraine have resulted in a far higher number of civilian casualties, the reverse impact on Russian territory and its foreign labor population continues to grow. Ukrainian officials, under international and domestic pressures including from global political figures, have indicated a willingness to negotiate cease-fires tied to the cessation of Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, though such agreements remain elusive.

The evolving conflict underscores the risks faced not only by combatants but also by civilians and migrant workers in both countries, illustrating how the war’s reverberations extend far beyond traditional battlefields.