Russia is recruiting Yemeni Houthis to participate in the war against Ukraine. In particular, men were brought using human trafficking schemes.
Points of attention
- Russia is recruiting Yemeni Houthis for the war against Ukraine, promising them jobs and citizenship, and then forcing them to serve in the Russian army at the front in Ukraine.
- Recruiting mercenaries from Yemen shows Russia's willingness to use various methods to replenish its military reserves, including using the country's poverty to attract new recruits.
- Analysts believe that the Kremlin's cooperation with the Houthis indicates Russia's desire to strengthen its military presence in the region.
- Data on the recruitment of Yemeni mercenaries into the Russian army began to arrive in the summer of 2023, while other countries such as Nepal are also being recruited by Russia to participate in the war against Ukraine.
How Russia is recruiting Yemeni Houthis for the war against Ukraine
As the publication notes, the Yemeni men who are being transported to Russia said that they were promised high-paying jobs and Russian citizenship. However, upon arrival, they were forcibly recruited into the Russian army and sent to the front in Ukraine.
American diplomats believe that the Kremlin's cooperation with the Houthis shows how far Russia is willing to go to replenish its military reserves.
Analysts say that while few Houthis have received training in Russia, Yemen's poverty makes it a convenient country for recruiting mercenaries.
The contracts of the Yemeni recruits seen by the FT are linked to a company founded by prominent Houthi politician Abdulwali Abdo Hassan al-Jabri. The company is formally registered as a tour operator and supplier of medical equipment.
According to the publication, recruitment began in July. One of the contracts, dated July 3, was signed by the head of the contractor selection center in Nizhny Novgorod.
The FT spoke to one of the recruits. He was part of a group of about 200 Yemenis who were drafted into the Russian army in September, he said. He was lured to Russia with promises of work in the field of "security" and "engineering".
After a few weeks of being at the front, the mercenary, together with four other newly arrived Houthis, escaped and hid in a forest on the territory of Ukraine. He said that one of the group members tried to commit suicide and was taken to the hospital.
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 occupying 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.
