According to Ivashchenko, Russia continues to systematically involve foreign citizens in the war against Ukraine.
In December alone, foreign intelligence discovered more than 150 foreigners from 25 countries recruited into the Russian army, and about 200 more are preparing to join the Russian Armed Forces, he informed.
Ivashchenko noted that the main sources of recruitment are the countries of the post-Soviet space and the Global South, including: Belarus, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Cuba, Kenya, China.
Mercenaries are motivated by financial rewards, simplified citizenship, and amnesty for those convicted.
“Moscow is purposefully playing on the economic instability of poor countries and limited routes of legal migration, turning these factors into a means of control and pressure,” Ivashchenko emphasized.
As the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service pointed out, Moscow also seeks to present the war against Ukraine as a conflict that goes far beyond the framework of a bilateral confrontation.
“The presence of citizens of China, Cuba or African countries is actively used in propaganda narratives as evidence of support from the “non-Western world,” Ivashchenko said.
Context
The Pentagon reported on the involvement of foreign mercenaries in the Russian occupation army back in March 2022.
On January 16, 2023, it became known that in Russia foreigners are offered military service in exchange for Russian citizenship.
On August 12, 2025, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense reported that the Russians were recruiting citizens of 138 countries to fight against Ukraine.
On October 7, Forbes, citing Ukrainian officials, reported that up to 25 thousand Cubans could soon fight for Russia, which would surpass the North Koreans as the largest contingent of foreign troops on the battlefield. For many Cubans, the attraction lies in finances, the media emphasized.
At least 1,436 citizens from 36 African countries are fighting in the army of the aggressor country of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry noted on November 7.
More than 200 Kenyans may take part in the war against Ukraine on the side of the aggressor country of the Russian Federation, the Kenyan Foreign Ministry announced on November 12.
