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Russian Ex-Teacher Issued 500 Invitations for Foreigners to Join Putin’s War in Ukraine
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A 40-year-old former Russian schoolteacher, Polina Azarnykh, issued nearly 500 invitations that allowed foreign men to enter Russia and enlist in its military, according to a BBC investigation on January 13.
Recruits and their families told journalists that she misled the men, assuring them they would avoid combat roles.
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BBC identified close to 500 invitation documents linked to Azarnykh, mostly issued to men from Syria, Egypt, Yemen, and other countries. The documents enabled recipients to travel to Russia and sign one-year military contracts.
One of the recruits, Omar, a 26-year-old Syrian construction worker speaking under a pseudonym, said Azarnykh promised him a non-combat position and Russian citizenship. He said she also demanded $3,000 to ensure he would not be sent to the front line. After refusing to pay, Omar said he was deployed to Ukraine with just 10 days of training.
“We were tricked… this woman is a con artist and a liar,” Omar said.
He described being threatened by commanders when he tried to refuse combat missions and later received a video showing his passport being burned.
“We’re 100% going to die here,” he said in a voice message from the front line.“Dead bodies everywhere… I’ve stepped on dead bodies, God forgive me.”
According to the investigation, Omar witnessed dead soldiers being hastily wrapped in plastic bags and left in nearby wooded areas. Over time, he also realized that a key detail had never been explained to him: a Russian decree issued in 2022 allows the military to automatically extend service contracts for the duration of the war. When he learned this, he understood that there was no clear path out of the army and his contract was subsequently extended.
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The BBC spoke to eight foreign fighters recruited by Azarnykh and to families of 12 men who they say were recruited by her and are now dead or missing. Several said the men understood they were joining the Russian military but were led to believe they would not fight on the front line or could leave after a year.
Another Syrian recruit, Habib, who said he worked with Azarnykh on visa invitations, told the BBC that many foreign fighters arrived expecting guard duties rather than combat.
“Polina would take the men, knowing that they were going to die,” he said to the journalists.
By mid-2024, Azarnykh’s own Telegram posts began explicitly stating that recruits would take part in hostilities.
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“You all understood well that you were going to war,” she said in a video posted in October 2024. “You thought that you could get a Russian passport, do nothing and live in a five-star hotel?... Nothing happens for free.”
BBC analysis suggests at least 20,000 foreign nationals may have joined Russia’s military since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, as Moscow increasingly relies on overseas recruitment to offset heavy battlefield losses.
Earlier, it was reported that Russia recruited about 150 foreign citizens from 25 different countries to take part in the war against Ukraine in December 2025, while roughly another 200 foreign nationals are now undergoing preparations to enter Russia’s armed forces.
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