Russia has recruited more than 28,000 foreigners to fight against Ukraine - intelligence chief
Russia has recruited more than 28,000 foreign nationals to fight in its war against Ukraine, with a growing number coming from African countries, according to Ukrainian military intelligence chief Oleh Ivashchenko.
Ivashchenko disclosed the figure in an interview with The Times, saying Russia has been attracting foreign recruits with promises of high pay.
Ukraine's military intelligence is working with security and intelligence agencies in other countries to disrupt the recruitment, Ivashchenko said.
“We are working to stop this by providing information to the relevant security and intelligence services. We are also conducting non-military operations to inform the populations in the relevant countries,” he said.
Russia has previously recruited people from countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America to fight against Ukraine. Some recruits have said they were misled about the nature of the work they would perform in Russia or were pressured into signing military contracts.
Ukrainian authorities have previously reported recruitment efforts targeting citizens of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, as well as Bangladesh and several African countries, including Chad, Sudan and Burundi.
The new figure comes as Russia struggles to replace personnel lost on the battlefield. Ivashchenko told The Times that Moscow currently recruits about 1,000 to 1,200 people a day, while Russian forces are losing roughly 1,400 to 1,500 troops daily.
According to Ivashchenko, Russia could exhaust the military and economic resources needed to sustain the war at the current rate by 2028.