Kenyan Charles Mutoka, 72 years old, mourns his son Oscar Hagola Mutoka, a former soldier who went to Russia in the summer of 2025 to look for work and later died, becoming one of over 27,000 foreigners that, according to the estimate of the Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Russia recruited for the war in Ukraine.
The father said he tried in vain to dissuade his son from going. Oscar did not inform him or the rest of the family of his exact destination, but a week after his departure, he sent a photo in military uniform and never contacted them again. The family learned of his death some time later, but despite appealing to the Kenyan authorities, they were unable to recover the body. In May 2026, the family held a symbolic memorial service and set up an improvised burial place for Oscar to have at least a place for prayer. “The worst thing is that I don’t know if and where he was actually buried, or if his body was just thrown in a forest in Russia,” said Charles Mutoka.
A joint investigation conducted by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the human rights organization Truth Hounds, and the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law (KIBHR) provides evidence that Russia has created a global network for recruiting foreigners. Ilya Nusov, one of the authors of the study, told DW that the recruitment targets people who are in difficult economic, social, or legal situations. Various methods are used for recruitment — from attractive offers to deception and even coercion.
Promises of high salaries and citizenship
For many people living in the poorest regions of the world, the salary offered by the Russian army is a huge incentive, as it provides a chance to escape poverty and support their families. This is why Cuban Yoan Viondi Mendoza decided to go to Russia to earn money. He was promised 2,000 dollars (1,750 euros) a month, which is a huge amount by Cuban standards, where the average salary is 20 dollars (17.50 euros). DW learned the story of Yoan Mendoza from his brother Michael Duro, who lives in the USA.
Yoan wanted to immigrate to the USA and reunite with his brother, but this turned out to be impossible due to financial and bureaucratic obstacles. Then he came across an offer of work in Russia, his brother said. “Yoan called and said he had found a way out. He told me about a ‘project’ in Russia,” said Duro, who told DW that he tried in vain to convince his brother. In September 2023, the Reuters news agency filmed young Cubans who wanted to go to Russia, including 23-year-old Yoan Mendoza. He told journalists that he knew exactly where he was going and did not want to starve to death in Cuba. He also showed a document that was supposedly a contract with the Russian army, which also provided for obtaining Russian citizenship. Duro said that his brother was sent to the front in Ukraine and then tried to escape. “He begged: ‘I made a mistake. Forgive me. Please, get me out of here faster,'” said Duro, adding that after that, contact was lost. Yoan‘s name later appeared on the lists of dead foreigners published by Ukraine.
Another DW interlocutor was a citizen of Bangladesh, Mondol, who also found himself in the war in Ukraine after being recruited. During one of the combat missions, the vehicle he was in hit a mine. Mondol was one of the two survivors and was taken to a military hospital, from where he managed to escape. Eventually, the Bangladesh Embassy in Moscow helped him return home, but what he experienced in the war still haunts him. “I still have these images in my head — dying people, their eyes, distorted faces. How mines blew them up. How one drone attack followed another. How people’s limbs were torn off. It was horrible,” recalled Mondol, who still has a shard in one leg and a severe limp. After returning to his village, Mondol could not find a job.
Mercenaries or victims of human trafficking?
Foreigners fighting for Russia in Ukraine are often called mercenaries. However, Ilya Nusov explained that, from the point of view of international law, they do not always fall under this definition, since many accept Russian citizenship even before joining the army. Others initially had no intention of fighting. They can be considered victims of human trafficking if they are recruited under false promises and forced to participate in the war. This violates the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Palermo Protocol, which prohibits human trafficking and has been ratified by most countries in the world, including Russia.
Russia insists that all foreigners participating in the “special military operation,” as it calls its war in Ukraine, do so voluntarily. In March, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a press conference with his Kenyan counterpart that “no one is hired, just as no one is recruited in the case of the special military operation. Volunteers go there in full compliance with Russian legislation.” DW contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
The involvement of foreigners in the war is attracting increasing attention, and their families are protesting from Nepal to Peru. Some politicians, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have even raised this issue at meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to media reports, in February 2026, Russia restricted the recruitment of citizens from some “friendly” countries. The list of these states was not published. “In some cases, this contributed to a reduction or even temporary cessation of the flow of fighters from certain countries,” said Nusov. “But we believe that Russia also has ways to bypass this, reducing recruitment in one place and focusing on other countries.” According to the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Russia may recruit up to 18,500 foreigners in 2026.
Source: Deutsche Welle
