Russia has stepped up its recruitment of Africans from Zimbabwe to fight in the war against Ukraine — Bloomberg
Russia has stepped up its search for mercenaries in African countries, particularly in Zimbabwe and Burundi. According to Bloomberg, citing a presentation by Ukrainian intelligence agencies, Moscow is attempting to recruit people from countries with weak democratic institutions and limited press freedom.
From January through September 2026, Russia recruited 699 men in Burundi and 530 in Zimbabwe. By comparison, for all of 2025, these figures were 30 and 65 people, respectively.
In Zimbabwe, online advertisements are being circulated offering local residents the opportunity to apply for a program for specialists. At the same time, the promotional materials do not explicitly state that participants may be sent to fight in the war against Ukraine.
A significant increase in recruitment has also been recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Cameroon. According to Bloomberg, the search for new fighters is linked to the Russian army’s need to compensate for losses and personnel shortages.
The U.S. Institute for the Study of War (ISW) notes that Russian troop losses continue to outpace the rate at which the army is being replenished. According to a NATO representative’s estimates, Russia lost more than 50,000 soldiers killed or wounded in September.
At the same time, the rate of recruitment of Russians into contract service, according to calculations by German researcher Janis Klug, has remained at approximately 30,000–31,000 people per month since the spring of 2026.
Source: Bloomberg
Ukrainian military intelligence has identified Kamara Alaji, a citizen of Sierra Leone, who fought on the side of Russian forces. This was reported on October 2 by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.
A video has been circulating online showing the abuse of a man, presumably a Belarusian mercenary fighting as part of the Russian army. In the released footage, the man is suspended upside down by his feet from a tree, after which a Russian beats him with a wooden stick and threatens further violence.
Russia has stepped up its recruitment of Belarusian citizens to participate in the war, offering them large cash payments and other privileges. Among the promises are assistance with loans, “expungement of criminal records,” and expedited acquisition of Russian citizenship.
