Putin rounds up illegal migrants to send to the frontline in Ukraine as Vladimir exploits Moscow massacre anti-migrant backlash to find more cannon fodder

Vladimir Putin is rounding up illegal migrants in Russia to fuel his bloody invasion of Ukraine, just days after four Tajik nationals were charged over the Crocus terror attack in Moscow, with migrant groups left fearing bloody retaliation.

Paddy wagons sporting the National Guard insignia arrived at a vast online shopping warehouse in Elektrostal, Moscow today, where thousands of migrant workers were reportedly forced to show their documents.

Checks were carried out by armed and masked Russian guards and military enlistment officers, before at least 40 people were hauled away from the Wildberries warehouse.

More operations in kind are said to be planned, as Putin seeks more cannon fodder for his ongoing war in Ukraine.

It comes just days after the Crocus City Hall atrocity, which led to the deaths of at least 140 people after gunmen stormed a packed concert venue in the capital and indiscriminately targeted civilians before setting the building on fire.

A number of men from Tajikistan have since been detained in connection to the attacks, which have been claimed by jihadist group Islamic State. 

Friday's horror attack has been linked to a rise in tensions, with the BBC today reporting an increase in beatings and racism aimed at Central Asian migrants - and the embassy of Tajikistan in Russia warning citizens not to leave their homes unless necessary. 

Some of the migrants detained today will reportedly face the choice of jail or expulsion - or fighting in Ukraine for Russia.

Migrants who have been granted Russian citizenship also express fears they may be called up.

'They check who is on the side of the military, and who is evading,' one said. 'Those who evade can be taken away against their will.'

'Whoever resists is beaten with sticks by the riot police,' said another worker.

A further 38 employees of the warehouse will undergo additional checks with law enforcement to 'clarify' information gathered already, the Wildberries company told state-owned news agency RIA.

It came a day after Putin spoke on the urgency of bringing the 'migration sphere ... under control' at a meeting with the board of the Prosecutor General's Office, RIA noted.

Putin reportedly ordered that measures be handled 'professionally and competently' to 'facilitate the adoption of legal, informed and fair decisions'.

Still, critics fear the atrocity in Moscow last week is already leading to discriminatory behaviour towards migrants living in Russia.

In Novgorod region, it has been prohibited to hire foreign workers in the transport sector.

State Duma deputy Dmitry Gusev has also called for a complete 'audit' of all labour migrants living in the country - as well as those who have recently received Russian citizenship.

In Moscow, a 29-year-old woman from Yakutia was surrounded by a hostile mob on the metro and subjected to vile racist abuse. 

'Get the **** out of here,' she was told - even though she is a Russian citizen.

'Russia for Russians, Moscow for Muscovites!

'Africa for blacks, cesspit for Caucasians! Hail Tesak!'

The group reportedly ally with neo-Nazi Maxim Martsinkevich, nicknamed Tesak, meaning Machete, who died from 'asphyxia' in a Russian jail in 2020.

The scared woman said: 'It was 6.30 pm. I was waiting for the train… Very young guys…came up to me.

'One of them, the most active one, took a metal bat out of his jacket and showed me.

'They surrounded me and began to humiliate me… They called me names from the platform based on my nationality and appearance.'

She said no-one came to her aid.

Two of those threatening her were detained today and face questioning.

On Telegram, migrants from Tajikistan have shared messages expressing fears the community in Russia will suffer for the Crocus attack, as reported by the BBC.

Sharing their concern over retributive attacks, one said: 'Please, God, let [the attackers] be Ukrainian instead.'

Russia's Federal Security Service, or the FSB, said it had arrested 11 people the day after the attack, including four suspected gunmen.

Moscow's Basmanny District Court identified the four suspects behind the attack as Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, 32; Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, 30; Shamsidin Fariduni, 25; and Mukhammadsobir Faizov, 19. 

The four men, identified as Tajik nationals, appeared in a Moscow court on Sunday on terrorism charges and showed signs of severe beatings.

One appeared to be barely conscious during the hearing.

The men were charged with committing a group terrorist attack resulting in the death of others. The offence carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

They were all ordered to be held in pre-trial custody until May 22.

Mirzoyev and Rachabalizoda admitted guilt after being charged, according to AP, citing court officials.

While Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, President Vladimir Putin has said the four men were arrested while trying to flee to Ukraine.

Kyiv denies any connection to the attack.

Putin has made no reference to ISIS' claims.

US intelligence also said after the attack it had information confirming ISIS was responsible for the attack.

Yesterday, head of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) Alexander Bortnikov bizarrely pinned blame on the United States, Britain and Ukraine.

Speaking after the meeting with the board of the Prosecutor General's Office, he was asked whether the US, Britain and Ukraine were behind the terrorist attack, according to Russian news agency TASS.

'We believe that this is true. In any case, we are now talking about the factual information we have. This is general information, but they have a long record of this sort.'

'What is [Ukraine] expected to do to demonstrate its capability? It is expected to carry out sabotage and terrorist acts in the rear,' he continued.

'This is what both the chiefs of Ukraine's special services and the British special services are aiming at. US special services have repeatedly mentioned this, too.'

The Crocus Concert Hall was attacked by armed gunmen on March 22, when terrorists opened fire on civilians and set the auditorium on fire in Russia's deadliest attack in 20 years.

According to the latest data, 140 people have been confirmed dead as a result of the attack, the most recent dying in hospital today.

A total of 80 people injured in the attack remain hospitalized, the official added, and 205 others have sought outpatient medical assistance.

The Moscow Times reported today as many as 360 had been injured in the attack.

Three days before the attack, Putin denounced the U.S. Embassy's March 7 notice urging Americans to avoid crowds in Moscow, including concerts, calling it an attempt to frighten Russians and 'blackmail' the Kremlin ahead of the presidential election.

After Britain echoed the notice, Kremlin mouthpieces accused both of 'complicity' if terrorists did hit Moscow.

The news of a terror warning on March 7 came only hours after the FSB claimed to have thwarted an ISIS plot to slaughter Jews in a Moscow synagogue.

It was unclear whether the events are linked.

According to the FSB, a large cache of weapons and bomb parts were found during a raid on an Islamic State cell in Kaluga, southwest of the capital.

Russian state media reported militants had been gearing up to shoot Jewish worshippers at a synagogue in the capital before security officials stormed the premises and gunned them down.

'While being arrested, the terrorists put up armed resistance to the Russian FSB officers, and as a result were neutralised by return fire,' the Russian state-owned TASS news agency quoted the security service as saying in a statement.