With promises of good pay, Russia lures more foreign fighters to Ukraine

It is stepping up efforts to recruit soldiers as losses on battleground mount

- Jonathan Eyal

Evidence that Russia has recruited hundreds of men from Yemen to fight in Ukraine remains patchy.

The allegation first surfaced in a Nov 24 report by London's Financial Times. Although the newspaper published a video of what it claims are young Yemenis dressed in Russian battle fatigues and a copy of their supposed recruitment contract, at least for the moment, there is no corroboration of this from any other sources.

Nonetheless, the story rings true, partly because Russia is known to be filling its military manpower shortages by hiring foreign mercenaries, and partly because Russian President Vladimir Putin's government is determined to boost its links with anti-Western movements such as the Houthis in Yemen.

The approximately 14,000 North Koreans known to be deployed with Russian battlefront troops remain by far the most significant foreign contingent involved in the Ukraine war.

However, in almost every respect, North Korean involvement differs from that of other foreign recruits now wearing Russian uniforms.

The North Koreans are there as part of a security treaty between President Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. All the other foreign fighters appear to have been enlisted by shadowy Russian recruitment outfits, which, in a further attempt to cover their official links, are often financed by Russia's various local governments rather than the central authorities in Moscow.

Western intelligence agencies tracked their activities as far back as late 2022 in places as diverse as Nepal, India, Cuba and Central Asia. Their method of operation was invariably the same: a promise of good pay, including eventual Russian citizenship.

As a rule, offers are generous because they do not need to be kept. Once they arrive in Russia, the hired soldiers are quickly dispatched to the front line, where they are treated as cannon fodder. Most end up dead in a matter of months.