From recruiters to trenches: Russian women sent to Ukraine's front lines for scamming foreign mercenaries
global.espreso.tv
Mon, 13 Oct 2025 18:54:00 +0300

The findings come from an investigation by the Sistema project, which is part of the Current Time news organization.Elena Smirnova and Olga Shilyaeva, both residents of Ryazan, masterminded an operation that lured citizens from Cuba and Sri Lanka to Russia with enticing promises of a $2,000 monthly salary and a path to Russian citizenship. The women would front the costs for travel and accommodation, but with a deceptive catch: upon the recruit's signing a contract with the Russian army, Smirnova and Shilyaeva would seize their first substantial payment, claiming it as reimbursement for their expenses.The operation, which allegedly funneled over 3,000 foreigners into the Russian military, began to collapse as recruits raised alarms. Many complained they had been deceived, believing they were coming to Russia for construction jobs, only to be forced into military training centers and sent to the trenches. Others, unable to read Russian, signed contracts whose terms they did not understand, and some noticed additional funds disappearing from their bank accounts, suspecting the recruiters were skimming their pay.Following multiple police reports filed by Cuban nationals in April 2024, Smirnova was arrested for theft and placed in a pre-trial detention center. Facing the prospect of a long prison sentence, she reportedly "volunteered" to sign a military contract and go to the front. Shilyaeva soon followed a similar path. In a stunning twist of fate, both women are now said to be serving in a Storm V assault company, fighting in the very war they once profited from by deceiving others.
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