The Russian Federation is using more than 18,000 foreign citizens from 128 countries in its war against Ukraine, of whom 3,388 have already died.
This was reported by Bohdan Okhrimenko, head of the Secretariat of the Coordinating Headquarters on the Treatment of Prisoners of War, during the Congress of Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine in Kyiv.
“More than 18,000 foreign citizens are fighting on the side of the Russian Federation… from 128 countries. And we have evidence that 3,388 have already died,” Okhrimenko said.
He emphasized that the scale of foreign involvement in Russia’s aggression is extremely large.
“Is this a large number? Even just counting mercenaries from other countries, citizens of other states whom the Russian Federation uses in its war against our country, it can exceed the size of the armed forces of some European countries. This is a significant resource that the Russian Federation uses to promote its ‘Russian world’ ideology,” Okhrimenko noted.
He also added that the volume of mobilization of Russia’s indigenous peoples and foreign mercenaries in 2025 has already reached the level of the entire 2024 year in just nine months.
“Regarding the mobilization of the population of Russia’s indigenous peoples, the numbers are quite interesting. In 2022, it was about 200–300 people; in 2023 there was a huge surge in mercenary mobilization and contracts signed with citizens of other countries; in 2024, almost seven thousand; and in just nine months of this year, the number is identical to the 2024 figure,” Okhrimenko said.
He noted that the trend indicates further growth in mobilization.
“Around the beginning of January, we will update this figure, and it will already be significantly higher than the entire 2025 year compared to previous years,” Okhrimenko said
