How Russia Uses Foreign Nationals to Fill Its Ranks in the War Against Ukraine

Russia’s recruitment machinery has expanded aggressively as the war against Ukraine approaches its fourth year, driven by unprecedented losses and the failure of Moscow’s early military objectives. The Kremlin expected to seize Ukraine within days, yet Russian forces were pushed back in the first year and have since struggled to advance. Despite declaring the full occupation of Donbas a minimum objective, Russia has failed to achieve even that.

Meanwhile, the cost in human lives has escalated sharply, over a million Russian soldiers killed, and hundreds of thousands wounded or disabled, forcing Moscow to search relentlessly for new manpower sources.

The Russian government has carried out repeated mobilization campaigns, both public and concealed, while continuing mandatory conscription. It has spent billions of dollars contracting so-called “volunteers,” mostly from marginalized or impoverished regions with limited economic opportunities.

These efforts, however, remain insufficient. Ukraine has fortified its defenses, expanded the use of modern technologies, and created wide “kill zones” using advanced drones, making Russian offensive attempts extremely costly. Russian commanders continue to push entire units into reckless frontal assaults, worsening casualties with little strategic gain.

Faced with these constraints, Russia has increasingly turned to manpower outside its borders. One of the most striking developments has been the deployment of large numbers of North Korean soldiers to the front lines.

 But this is only part of a much broader strategy in which Moscow seeks to recruit foreign nationals across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and even parts of Europe. Russian embassies, cultural centers, and affiliated institutions abroad promote pro-Kremlin narratives to create a fertile ground for recruitment.

Meanwhile, coordinated online efforts—spanning social media, Telegram channels, and covert intermediaries—promise foreign recruits high salaries, fast-track citizenship, legal employment, or educational opportunities. In reality, many migrants and job-seekers fall victim to deception, coercion, and exploitation.

Africa has emerged as a primary target for this strategy. Russian networks there recruit not only fighters but also technicians and unskilled workers for the military-industrial sector. A notable example comes from South Africa, where women were recruited under the guise of legal employment in the “Alabuga Special Economic Zone” in Tatarstan, only to be placed in factories producing military drones.

The entire operation was masked as municipal-level cooperation, while the workers were unknowingly shifted into facilities that are legitimate military targets and frequently hit by Ukrainian strikes.

Across the continent, thousands of young people—many unfamiliar with international politics and unaware of the risks—have been lured into irregular recruitment schemes. Students and migrant laborers are especially vulnerable. Some are given an ultimatum: serve in the Russian army or face deportation. Several African nationals have already been captured by Ukrainian forces, confirming the extent of Russia’s foreign recruitment drive.

Kenya provides a particularly revealing case. Authorities uncovered a criminal network that sent citizens to Russia under false employment offers. Upon arrival, the recruits were forced to sign documents in Russian that turned out to be military contracts. Their passports and phones were confiscated, and they were transported to military camps without training. One Kenyan recruit was later taken prisoner by Ukrainian troops after being deployed directly into combat.

In Tanzania, a citizen was wrongfully convicted of drug offenses and then recruited from prison into the so-called “African Legion”—a new branding for the Wagner network—where he ultimately died in combat. Similar patterns have been documented among nationals of South Africa, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Belarus, Uzbekistan, and Nepal.

Russia has also been accused of fabricating criminal charges to pressure foreign citizens into recruitment pipelines. These tactics, combined with misinformation and economic coercion, form a system designed to replenish Russia’s ranks at any human cost. 

As Russia’s losses mount and its domestic recruitment pools dry up, its reliance on foreign manpower is likely to increase. The international community faces a growing challenge: protecting vulnerable populations from deceptive recruitment networks while confronting a state willing to exploit foreign citizens to sustain its war effort.