Russia Recruits Foreigners for Ukraine War Amid Global Concern

Moscow (Terror Monitor) — Russia is reportedly recruiting large numbers of people from some of the world's poorest countries to fight on the front lines in Ukraine, prompting growing concern among the international community.

Seventy-two-year-old Kenyan Charles Motoka is still grieving the loss of his son, Oscar Khagola Motoka. In 2025, Charles tried to stop Oscar from traveling to Russia, but was unsuccessful. About a week after his departure, the family received a photograph of Oscar wearing a military uniform. They never heard from him again.

Some time later, the family learned that Oscar had been killed. Despite repeated appeals to the Kenyan government, they have been unable to bring his body home.

According to estimates by Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Agency, Oscar was among more than 27,000 foreign nationals recruited by Russia to fight in the war against Ukraine.

A joint investigation by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Truth Hounds, and the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law alleges that Russia has established a global recruitment network to enlist foreign nationals.

For many people living in impoverished regions, the salaries offered by the Russian military are highly attractive, providing what appears to be an opportunity to escape poverty and support their families.

Ilya Nosov, one of the report's authors, told DW that the recruitment campaign primarily targets people facing economic, social, and legal vulnerabilities. He said recruiters use promises of attractive jobs, deception, and in some cases coercion to bring people into the military.

Bangladeshi citizen Arman Mondal said he wanted to work abroad to lift his family out of poverty. His farmer father sold part of the family's property and borrowed money to pay a recruitment agent.

Mondal said he was promised a warehouse packing job in Russia but was instead sent to serve in the Russian military. He told DW that foreign recruits were treated poorly and were often used as "human shields" and sent into the heaviest fighting.

According to Mondal, one of their vehicles struck a landmine during a mission, and he was one of only two survivors. After being hospitalized, he managed to escape. The Bangladeshi embassy in Moscow later helped him return home, although he has struggled to find work since returning.

Experts say that while foreign fighters serving with Russia are often described as mercenaries, international law does not automatically classify them as such. Some recruits obtain Russian citizenship before joining the military, while others are allegedly lured with false promises of civilian jobs in construction or security before being pressured or forced into signing military contracts.

Human rights experts argue that if individuals are recruited through deception and later coerced into combat, such practices could violate the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Palermo Protocol on human trafficking.

Russia maintains that all foreign nationals participating in what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine are serving voluntarily.

The growing presence of foreign recruits in Russia's military has drawn increasing international attention. Several world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have reportedly raised the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to media reports, Russia restricted recruitment from certain countries it considers "friendly states" in February 2026, although no official list of those countries has been released.