Russians want to recruit almost 19 000 foreigners for war against Ukraine in 2026

In 2026, the Russian army plans to recruit at least 18 500 foreigners for the war against Ukraine.

This was reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate (known as GUR) of the Ministry of Defense, citing data from the "I Want to Live" project.

The number of male migrants aged 18-60 has been checked in the federal districts of the Russian Federation. The military commissariats want to recruit from 0.5% to 3.5% of foreigners from each region to the war against Ukraine.

"Recruitment takes place through 97 selection points for contract service. The largest number of such points operates in the Central Military District — 30. In the Moscow and Southern Districts — 21 each, in the Eastern — 14, and the smallest number in the Leningrad District — 11," GUR of the Ministry of Defense explained.

Mercenaries are recruited not only in special posts, but also through private "military" structures (for example, "Wagner-2", "Potok" and others). The Russians are most "interested" in citizens of Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The Kremlin is also working outside the Russian Federation — it wants to recruit foreigners from Bangladesh, Chad, Sudan, Burundi and other countries in Africa and Asia.

The Russians promise mercenaries money, benefits, and citizenship. At the same time, they manipulate the foreigners’ visas to expire or migration violations. The Kremlin offers foreigners a choice: participation in the war against Ukraine or imprisonment.

Russian mercenaries from other countries

According to the latest data from the Coordination Headquarters, the Russians have recruited 27 407 foreigners from 135 countries for the war against Ukraine. So far, 10 000 living and dead mercenaries have been identified, and hundreds more are in Ukrainian captivity. Ukrainian troops capture from one to three foreign mercenaries every week.

Currently, there are established facts of recruitment of citizens of Nepal and Somalia into the Russian army. The Russian Federation also recruited illegal migrants from the Finnish border into its army, who were trying to get to the EU through Russia. Some citizens of Nepal and India are already in captivity or have died. There are also videos on social networks with Africans as part of the Russian occupation forces in Ukraine.

The Kremlin also cooperates with the North Korean army, whose soldiers were involved in fighting in the Kursk region. In addition, in September 2023, a scheme to recruit mercenaries for the war against Ukraine was exposed in Cuba.

At the end of October 2025, it became known that the Russian Federation was recruiting people in the Balkan Peninsula to fight in the Russian army, promising payments, citizenship, and benefits.

Mercenaries from South Africa were also sent to fight against Ukraine. In late 2025, the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma resigned from her parliamentary mandate: she was accused of deceiving 18 men into going as mercenaries to fight for Russia in Ukraine.

In January 2026, another scheme to recruit foreigners became known — the Russians lured Bangladeshi citizens into supposedly civilian vacancies, and then sent them to fight against Ukraine.

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