Russia is increasingly involving foreigners in the war against Ukraine, recruiting citizens of countries in Africa, Latin America and the post-Soviet space. In total, the identities of nearly 46,000 foreigners from 151 countries who signed contracts with the armed forces of the Russian Federation have been established. This was reported by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, UNN writes.
As of October 1, 2026, according to data from the “I Want to Live” project, the identities of 45,959 foreigners who signed contracts with the armed forces of the Russian Federation have been established. They are citizens of 151 countries and representatives of unrecognized territories, the statement says
This was reported during the international conference “Crimea Global. Understanding Ukraine through the South” by the Secretary of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Brigadier General Dmytro Usov.
The updated data clearly show how the scale of Russia’s recruitment is growing.
- 2022 – 94 people;
- 2023 – 4,067;
- 2024 – 8,877;
- 2025 – 16,085;
- for the 9 months of 2026 – 16,168.
The plan for 2026 is 18,500 people. Russia is currently recruiting about 1,800 foreigners per month. If this pace continues, the plan will be exceeded as early as November, and by the end of the year the number of new contract soldiers could reach 21,500.
The largest number of foreigners have been recruited in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Belarus. At the same time, recruitment is growing fastest in African and Latin American countries.
In just nine months of 2026, 1,449 citizens of Colombia, 699 of Burundi, 530 of Zimbabwe and 503 of Peru signed contracts with the armed forces of the Russian Federation.
The governments of the countries whose citizens have ended up in the Russian army and been captured by Ukraine must increase diplomatic pressure on Moscow. Russia must be held accountable for the fate of the people it recruited to fight against Ukraine and facilitate their return home