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Russia’s Recruitment Ads for Foreign Fighters Surge 7× Since Summer, Says Study
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Russia has sharply expanded a recruitment campaign targeting foreign nationals for contract service in its army, with the volume of online adverts rising more than sevenfold since the summer, according to The Moscow Times on November 25.
The Moscow Times, citing research by the Ukrainian organization OpenMinds, reported that analysis of posts on the Russian social network VKontakte showed that by mid-2025, every third advertisement for military contracts was aimed at foreigners, compared with about 7% a year earlier.
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The study found that around half of the foreign-targeted posts were directed at Russian-speaking citizens of post-Soviet states, while the remainder focused on audiences in African countries, India, Bangladesh, Iraq, Yemen and others.
According to the article, some ads and accompanying images clearly indicated that recruits would be sent to frontline combat, but many promised supposedly safer positions such as warehouse work, construction, security or driving, a pattern Ukrainian military intelligence officials described to CNN when discussing testimonies from captured fighters from Sri Lanka, Cuba, Nepal and several African states.
Once these recruits signed contracts written in Russian, a language many did not know, they typically received only one to two weeks of basic military training before being deployed to assault units, The Moscow Times said, again citing information relayed to CNN by Ukrainian intelligence.
Ukrainian military officials stated that more than 18,000 citizens of 128 countries have fought or are still fighting in the Russian army during the war, and that at least 3,388 of them have been killed.
Brigadier General Dmytro Usov, who heads Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, said nearly 200 foreign nationals from 37 countries are currently held as prisoners of war in Ukraine, according to the Moscow Times summary of CNN’s reporting.
In November, Russia adopted a law on mobilizing reservists that could allow up to 2 million people to be called into active service, the outlet added.
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The expansion of Russia’s online recruitment drive comes against the backdrop of heavy losses at the front, with a November review by Janis Kluge of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, cited by The Moscow Times, estimating that more than 30,000 contract soldiers have been enlisting each month, including 37,938 in October 2025.
The same review said regional compensation data suggests 5,000–10,000 Russians are being killed monthly in Ukraine, a minimum figure because not all families receive such payments, Kluge was quoted as saying.
Earlier, it was reported that Ukrainian officials identified at least 1,436 citizens from 36 African countries fighting in Russia’s invasion forces in Ukraine and warned that Moscow recruits them through deceit, coercion and financial incentives that often amount to a death sentence.
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