Nearly 46,000 Foreigners From 151 Countries Signed Contracts With Russian Armed Forces — Coordination Headquarters

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has recruited nearly 46,000 foreign nationals from 151 countries and unrecognized territories into its army.

This was reported by the secretary of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Brigadier General Dmytro Usov, during the international conference “Crimea Global. Understanding Ukraine through the South.”

According to data from the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine project I Want to Live, as of October 1, 2026, the identities of 45,959 foreigners who signed contracts with the Russian Armed Forces had been established.

The scale of foreign recruitment is growing every year. While the Russians recruited 94 foreigners into the military in 2022, that number rose to 4,067 in 2023, 8,877 in 2024, and 16,085 in 2025.

In just the first nine months of 2026, 16,168 foreigners signed contracts with the Russian military, already exceeding the total for the entire previous year.

According to the Coordination Staff’s estimates, Russia is currently recruiting about 1,800 foreigners per month. Meanwhile, the Russian military leadership’s target for 2026 is 18,500 people. If the current pace continues, the number of new foreign contract soldiers could reach 21,500 by the end of the year.

The largest numbers of foreigners recruited into the Russian army come from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Belarus. At the same time, recruitment rates are growing fastest in countries in Africa and Latin America.

Specifically, during the first nine months of 2026, 1,449 citizens of Colombia, 699 from Burundi, 530 from Zimbabwe, and 503 from Peru signed contracts with the Russian army. According to the Joint Staff, since the start of the full-scale invasion, citizens of 59 countries who fought on Russia’s side have been taken prisoner by Ukraine.

A survey of foreign prisoners of war conducted by the “I Want to Live” project revealed that 46.7% of respondents signed a contract to obtain Russian citizenship, while 41.4% were recruited through military registration and enlistment offices and recruitment centers. At the same time, only 28% of those surveyed were unaware that they would be participating in the war against Ukraine.

In addition, 48.8% of foreign servicemen were taken prisoner as a result of being wounded, and 79% expressed a desire to return to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange.

Russia actively uses schemes to recruit foreign tourists and migrant workers, luring them with promises of jobs and high pay. In some cases, intermediaries confiscate the passports of new arrivals and force them to choose between deportation, imprisonment, and signing a contract with the Russian army.

In September 2026, soldiers of the 33rd Mechanized Brigade took captive a group of Colombian citizens who had been recruited by Russia to fight in the war against Ukraine.