Russia has significantly increased the recruitment of military personnel from African countries to participate in the war against Ukraine.
Modern.az reports that “Bloomberg” agency wrote about this, citing Ukrainian intelligence data.
According to the information, a sharp increase in the number of people recruited into the Russian army, especially from Burundi and Zimbabwe, has been recorded.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, while 30 people were recruited into the Russian army from Burundi in 2025, this number increased to 699 in 2026. The number of recruits from Zimbabwe increased from 65 to 530.
It is also reported that recruitment for military service has increased from Sierra Leone, Sudan, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The agency writes that the governments of some African countries have expressed concern about the recruitment methods used by Russia. It is alleged that some individuals are taken to Russia with promises of civilian jobs, and then sent to the war in Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, 45,959 foreign citizens from 151 countries who have signed contracts with the Russian army have been identified so far. Of these, 5,451 are reported to be citizens of African countries.
It should be noted that the disclosed figures belong to Ukrainian intelligence and have not been confirmed by independent sources.
