Russia has intensified the recruitment of Africans in the countries of the Global South, as the resources of prisoners have already been exhausted.
Points of attention
- The African recruitment campaign aims to compensate for the Russian army's losses and support offensive operations at the front.
- Excessive mobilization of Russia's domestic resources forced the Kremlin to expand recruitment in the Global South.
- Mercenaries from countries in the Global South, such as Nepal and Somalia, participate in the conflict because of financial incentives.
- Recruited Africans and foreign mercenaries who are captured or killed become collateral victims of this confrontation.
The Kremlin is recruiting Africans after the prisoners are released
As noted in the summary, on May 28, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) announced that Russia has stepped up efforts to recruit Africans to participate in hostilities in Ukraine.
In particular, these recruitment efforts are focused on the Central African countries of Rwanda, Burundi, Congo and Uganda. Russia is reportedly offering a $2,000 sign-up bonus, a $2,200 monthly salary and the promise of a Russian passport.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine — 10 June 2024.
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According to UK intelligence, this recruitment campaign is designed to compensate for the significant losses of the Russian army on the battlefield and to support offensive activity on several fronts.
As Russia's limited prisoner recruitment pool has reached its peak, Russia is likely expanding recruitment in the Global South to avoid additional mobilization within Russia.
Previous mobilization for war was not only unpopular domestically with President Putin and the Russian government, but also led to record labor shortages and an outflow of skilled workers such as doctors and IT specialists, the British MoD said.
Russia recruits mercenaries in various countries
In the summer of 2023, it became known that residents of Nepal who came to the Russian Federation to study were being recruited for the war against Ukraine. The main argument for making such a decision is money.
In December, Nepal issued an official statement calling on Moscow to stop recruiting its citizens for the war and to return the bodies of those who had already died.
A mercenary of the Russian army from Somalia, Muhammad Adil, was captured by the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the beginning of January 2024. Online.ua journalists managed to ask the captured foreigner why he came to Russia, how he got into the occupier's army, how much he trained before he got to the front line, and which of his decisions he regrets.
After arriving in the Russian Federation, he got a job at a factory but soon saw an advertisement of the Russian army on the street and signed a contract on December 3, 2023.
In less than a month, already on January 4, 2024, he found himself on the front line on the territory of Ukraine.
