Russia recruited 459 Peruvians for the war against Ukraine — 11 of them died

Russia recruited 459 Peruvians for the war against Ukraine — 11 of them died and 114 went missing.

This was reported by the countryʼs Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Peru has reported for the first time the number of its citizens recruited. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, three Peruvians were captured by the Ukrainian military. Another four fled from Russia after being forcibly recruited. In total, 31 Peruvian citizens were evacuated from Russia: 28 returned to the country, three more remained in Europe

The government had already sent diplomatic notes to Russia, but had not received a response. As a result, Lima turned to the International Committee of the Red Cross for help. Relatives of Peruvians who had been recruited into the Russian army held a demonstration outside the Russian embassy in Lima on August 4. They demanded the return of their loved ones and information about those who had gone missing.

In June, CNN reporters spoke with the families of these Peruvians, most of whom come from poor families. They were promised legal work, high salaries and the prospect of Russian citizenship. Peruvian prosecutors have opened a case of recruiting citizens of the country into the Russian army and are classifying these actions as human trafficking.

Russian mercenaries in foreign countries

In the full-scale war against Ukraine, mercenaries from at least 48 countries are fighting on Russiaʼs side. In Moscow alone, more than 1 500 foreigners could be recruited into the Russian army from April 2023 to May 2024.

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. As for citizens of Nepal and India, some of them are already in captivity or have died. There are already videos on social networks with Africans as part of the Russian occupation forces in Ukraine.

The Kremlin also cooperates with the North Korean army — its soldiers are involved in fighting in the Kursk region. In September 2023, a scheme to recruit mercenaries for the war in Ukraine on the side of the occupiers was exposed in Cuba.

In April 2025, Volodymyr Zelensky said that two Chinese citizens who fought in the ranks of the Russian army were captured in the Donetsk region.

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