Russia Expands Global Recruitment as Foreign POW Count in Ukraine Hits New Record
The number of foreign soldiers fighting for Russia in Ukraine has sharply risen this year, revealing a massive expansion of Moscow’s global recruitment network.
The Gaze reports this, referring to CNN, citing Ukrainian officials.
Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War stated that nearly 200 foreign nationals from 37 countries are currently being held as POWs, twice as many as in 2024.
Most originate from South and Central Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Despite their varied backgrounds, many describe identical recruitment schemes – job offers, residency promises or financial incentives – followed by immediate deployment to the front.
Brig. Gen. Dmytro Usov, who oversees Ukraine’s POW coordination efforts, said Kyiv has tracked more than 18,000 foreigners from 128 countries who have fought or are still fighting on Russia’s side. The figure excludes thousands of North Korean personnel reportedly dispatched under a bilateral agreement, suggesting the total number is significantly higher.
This surge comes against the backdrop of catastrophic Russian losses. Western intelligence estimates more than one million Russian casualties, including over 250,000 killed.
With domestic enlistment plummeting and the Kremlin unwilling to announce another mobilization, Moscow has turned to cash payments, fast-tracked citizenship, deportation threats and fake job offers to replenish its ranks.
Several governments have recently protested Moscow’s recruitment operations. For example, Kenya’s president warned of young Kenyans being illegally funneled into Russia’s military, South Africa launched an inquiry after 17 citizens sent distress messages from occupied Donbas, and India demanded the release of 44 Indian nationals and called on Moscow to end forced recruitment.
CNN notes that interviews with former combatants reveal a consistent pattern of deception. Many believed they were signing up for construction or security jobs in Russia, only to be transferred to assault units within weeks. Some were assured they would avoid frontline deployment before being sent into high-casualty “storm” brigades.
Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence says the influx of foreign fighters has grown annually since the full-scale invasion, and that foreign POW captures in the first nine months of 2025 have already doubled last year’s total.
As The Gaze previously reported, the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, was involved in recruiting men from South Africa and Botswana to serve in the Russian army.
Read more on The Gaze: The Great Realignment: How the War in Ukraine Reshaped the Global South