Russia's Ministry of Defence has signed contracts with nearly 46,000 foreign nationals from 151 countries. Around half of the foreign prisoners of war interviewed by Ukrainian authorities knew they would be fighting against Ukraine.
This was stated by Brigadier General Dmytro Usov, Secretary of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, at the fourth international conference, Crimea Global: Understanding Ukraine through the South.
"At the previous conference, we reported that 28,000 foreign nationals from 138 countries had been mobilised or recruited into the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Today, that figure has risen to nearly 46,000 foreigners who have signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defence, representing 151 countries worldwide," Usov said.
According to him, Ukrainian authorities possess the personal details of every foreign national who has signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defence, including their rank, military identification number and the date their contract was signed.
Usov noted that the number of foreigners recruited by Russia to fight in the war is increasing every year. While only 94 contracts were recorded in 2022, recruitment has since expanded significantly.
He said the Russian Ministry of Defence had planned to sign 18,500 contracts with foreign nationals this year, of which 16,168 have already been concluded. If the current pace continues, Russia could meet or exceed its target, the Coordination Headquarters Secretary predicted.
The ten countries that have contributed to the increase in foreign recruitment are Indonesia, Peru, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Chad, the Philippines, Congo, Panama, Ecuador and Zimbabwe.
At the same time, Usov said that the efforts of Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other organisations working on prisoner-of-war issues had helped reduce or completely halt the recruitment of citizens from certain countries.
He also reported that since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine's Security and Defence Forces have captured nationals of 59 countries.
According to Usov, a survey conducted by the Coordination Headquarters found that nearly 50% of foreign prisoners of war knew they were travelling to Ukraine to fight against Ukrainian military personnel and civilians.
Almost 47% had signed contracts in the hope of obtaining Russian citizenship.
He said that 48.8% of foreign prisoners of war had been wounded when captured. Meanwhile, nearly 79% expressed a desire to return to Russia rather than to their countries of citizenship.
Usov explained that one reason for this preference was the desire to receive the payments promised for signing military contracts and serving in the Russian armed forces, as well as the associated benefits.
In addition, 41% of those surveyed said their contracts had been arranged through military enlistment offices and recruitment centres.
According to Usov, this demonstrates the systematic nature of Russia's campaign to recruit foreign nationals for the war.
