Russia has recruited more than 28,000 foreigners to fight in the war against Ukraine, according to the Main Intelligence Directorate
Russia has recruited more than 28,000 foreign nationals to fight in the war against Ukraine. A significant portion of them are citizens of African countries.
According to him, Ukrainian intelligence is working to stop the recruitment of foreigners into the Russian army.
“We are working to stop this by passing on information to the relevant security and intelligence services. We are also conducting non-military operations to inform the public in the relevant countries,” said the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate.
According to Ivashchenko, a significant portion of the foreign mercenaries that Russia is recruiting for the war against Ukraine come from African countries.
Ukrainian intelligence agencies are attempting to counter this practice by cooperating with foreign security and intelligence services. In addition, information campaigns are being conducted for the populations of countries whose citizens are being targeted for recruitment into the Russian army.
Earlier, the Center for Countering Disinformation reported that Russia continues to recruit mercenaries from countries in the Global South to participate in the war against Ukraine.
In particular, in May, the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported the deaths of 11 Peruvian citizens who had joined the Russian army.
Thus, recruiting foreign citizens remains one of the ways to bolster the Russian army amid the war against Ukraine.
Oleg Ivashchenko, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, stated this in an interview with The Times.
As of May 2026, at least 2,965 citizens from 36 countries on the African continent were fighting or continue to fight against Ukraine as part of the Russian occupation army.
Earlier, the Ukrainian government project “I Want to Live,” run by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, published a list of 1,059 students whom the Russian Ministry of Defense had recruited to fight in the war against Ukraine.
In the second quarter of 2026, Russia signed approximately 93,000 new contracts for military service.
