19‑year‑old citizen of Kazakhstan, Kamir Nurgaliev, was discharged from the Russian army after the publication by ASTRA. He informed his relatives about this when he was being transported to Ulyanovsk from the military unit in Millerovo, Rostov Region, but his relatives do not have any documents confirming his discharge.
However, according to the documents available to ASTRA, on November 3, 2026, the Zasviyazhsky District Court of Ulyanovsk issued a preventive measure in the form of detention against Nurgaliev until December 13 on charges of distributing drugs on a large scale. According to his relatives, the citizen of Kazakhstan is being held in SIZO‑1.
In October, ASTRA reported that it was in Ulyanovsk that Nurgaliev signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense after being detained by law enforcement officers. Relatives reported that, according to unverified information, a citizen of Kazakhstan was sent to military unit 78568 in Millerovo, Rostov Region.
“He was told that if he didn’t sign the contract, they would plant prohibited substances on him,” the mother of the citizen of Kazakhstan said in a conversation with ASTRA at the time.
The search for Kamir Nurgaliev, who stopped contacting his loved ones in mid‑October, was carried out, among others, by Kazakh diplomats..
The fact that a citizen of Kazakhstan was sent to the Russian army was previously confirmed by Evgeny Dolmatov, an employee of the recruitment office in Ulyanovsk, whom ASTRA managed to contact. He claimed that Nurgaliev and his friend, a Russian citizen and resident of Ulyanovsk, “were detained for drug trafficking” and allegedly both voluntarily signed contracts to serve in the Russian Armed Forces in assault units.
“I told them that they were going to be sent into combat because they had committed a criminal offense under Article 228,” Dolmatov told us on October 21, repeatedly stating that the foreigner’s guilt was obvious, and that the citizen of Kazakhstan, his friend, and their relatives should be grateful to him for being sent to war. “Just say thank you that I allowed both of them to make at least one call somewhere. I could have done without that. I just felt a bit sorry for them.” “Say thank you for that, and you’re giving me a hard time.”
ASTRA contacted the relatives of Nurgaliev’s friend, a resident of Ulyanovsk. At first, they provided the contacts of their lawyer, who claimed that the criminal charges had been fabricated. After ASTRA asked whether the lawyer was working on assignment, the chat was deleted, and the relatives of the Russian citizen who was detained together with Nurgaliev refused to continue the communication.
