Russia Recruited Over 150 Foreign Fighters in December, 200 More Preparing
Russia is attempting to create the illusion of broad international support for its war against Ukraine by systematically recruiting foreign nationals into the ranks of the Russian army.
The Gaze reports this, referring to the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.
Russia continues its large-scale practice of recruiting foreign citizens to participate in the Russia-Ukraine war. According to the Foreign Intelligence Service, more than 150 foreigners from 25 countries were identified in December alone as having already joined Russian armed formations.
In addition, around 200 more individuals are currently at the preparation stage prior to enlistment, indicating the systematic and well-planned nature of this activity.
The main regions from which Russia recruits are post-Soviet states and countries of the Global South, including Belarus, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, as well as Cuba, Kenya, China and others. Moscow deliberately exploits economic hardship, limited opportunities for legal migration, and the legal vulnerability of citizens in these countries, using these factors as leverage to draw them into the Russian army.
At the same time, the involvement of foreign nationals in the war carries not only military but also clear political significance. The Kremlin seeks to portray its aggression against Ukraine as a conflict of supposedly global scope by emphasizing the participation of foreign citizens.
“The presence of citizens from China, Cuba or African countries is actively used in propaganda narratives as evidence of support from the ‘non-Western world’,” stressed Oleh Ivashchenko, Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.
It is also known that Russia disguises recruitment through well-paid employment and education programmes. According to Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, such information has already appeared in media outlets across the African continent.
In response, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called on African governments and media to take steps to stop these programmes, which are drawing young people into Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.
Earlier, Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at least 200 Kenyans were drawn to Russia in recent months by intermediaries that offered well-paid jobs. Mostly having no military background they were sent directly to combat zones in eastern Ukraine.
As The Gaze reported earlier, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that at least 1,436 individuals from 36 African countries are currently involved on Russia’s side, with many being sent directly to high-casualty “meat assaults” and treated as expendable.