UK intelligence reports on how Russia recruits foreigners for war against Ukraine
www.pravda.com.ua
Sun, 27 Apr 2025 13:20:02 +0300
UK Defence Intelligence has devoted its latest update on the RussoUkrainian war to Moscows recruitment of foreigners for the war against Ukraine.
Source UK Defence Intelligence update on X Twitter, as reported by European Pravda Details UK intelligence reported that, according to a recent study by Russian media outlet Vazhnye Istorii Important Stories, Russia recruited over 1,500 foreign nationals in Moscow to participate in the war between April 2023 and the end of May 2024.
The majority of volunteers reportedly came from South and East Asia 771 people, followed by former Soviet republics 523 people and Africa 72 people.
UK intelligence suggests that the recruitment of foreign nationals into the Russian military is largely unsystematic.
The update emphasises that most are motivated by financial incentives and the potential for Russian citizenship.
It is likely that many foreign nationals are recruited through Moscow due to the citys higher signingon bonuses, and relative international accessibility, the update says.
UK intelligence added that foreigners likely represent only a small proportion of the total number of recruits in the Russian Armed Forces, with the primary focus remaining on domestic recruitment.
Nonetheless, some recruitment of foreign nationals will almost certainly continue in the medium term as Russia maintains its current recruitment strategy, intended to replace heavy battlefield losses without resorting to a second wave of mobilisation, the update concluded.
Background UK Defence Intelligence devoted its previous RussoUkrainian war update to Moscows latest largescale missile attack on Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Estonian Defence Forces Intelligence Centre believes that Russia is continuing its war of attrition, depleting Ukraines military resources, with no signs of preparations for a potential truce.
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