The Philippine leader raised the issue with the Russian president during their meeting on the sidelines of a summit in Kazan
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenAssociated PressPublished: 1:28am, 21 Jun 2026Russia has freed 24 Filipinos who have been detained for months without charges in a Siberian city, after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr raised concerns about them in a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, Philippine officials said on Saturday.The 24 were scheduled to arrive in Manila on two flights early on Sunday, with the first batch to be welcomed by Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro, who accompanied Marcos in his talks with Putin on Wednesday in the Russian city of Kazan, the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said.
The release of the Filipinos was relatively swift after Marcos raised his concern on Wednesday. The Philippines is a key treaty ally of the United States in Asia and was among the majority of Asean members that voted for a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Singapore was the only Asean member to impose sanctions on Russia. Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong joined the Kazan summit.
After his bilateral meeting with Putin, Marcos told reporters that he raised concerns over the Filipinos who have been detained for about nine months in the city of Irkutsk in southeastern Siberia without charges. He said the Philippines has no other information about their condition.
