In December, Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service identified more than 150 foreign mercenaries in the Russian army. Another roughly 200 people are preparing to join the Russian Armed Forces, the head of the agency Oleg Ivashchenko said.
Most of the mercenaries are citizens of post-Soviet states and countries of the Global South, including Belarus, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Cuba, Kenya and China.
Foreigners are being recruited into the Russian army with promises of financial rewards, simplified citizenship procedures and amnesty for convicted individuals.
“Moscow is deliberately exploiting the economic instability of poor countries and the limited possibilities for legal migration, turning these factors into a tool of control and pressure,” Ivashchenko said.
According to the head of Ukraine’s foreign intelligence agency, by recruiting foreigners, Russia is also attempting to portray the war as a conflict that extends beyond a bilateral confrontation.
“The presence of citizens of China, Cuba or African states is actively used in propaganda narratives as proof of support from the ‘non-Western world’,” Ivashchenko said.
The Ukrainian project “I Want to Live” reported in October 2025 that 1,338 citizens of Belarus had fought on Russia’s side. Of them, 314 were killed.
