Russia has recruited over 27,000 people from 135 countries for war against Ukraine

Ukraine has gathered intelligence on 27,407 nationals from 135 countries who Russia has recruited into its armed forces.

Source: Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War on Facebook

Quote: "Egypt, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Algeria, Syria, Morocco and Jordan are far from a full list of countries in the Arab world whose citizens the Russian Federation has been recruiting for the war against Ukraine.

Overall, hundreds of foreigners are being held in Ukrainian captivity and their number continues to grow. Every week, Ukraine's defence forces capture from one to three citizens of other countries whom the Kremlin regime is effectively sending to certain death."

Details: The Coordination Headquarters said its Khochu Zhyt (I Want to Live) project has already released data on more than 10,000 identified living and dead nationals from different parts of the world serving in the Russian forces.

Intelligence data currently indicate that a total of 27,407 nationals from 135 countries have been recruited into the Russian armed forces.

The Coordination Headquarters said hundreds of people from Arabic-speaking countries in Africa and the Middle East joined Russia's occupation forces in 2025 alone.

The I Want to Live project released a documentary about five such "adventure seekers" from Egypt, Yemen and Somalia. All of them said they had gone to Russia to earn money, but instead found themselves on the front lines of someone else's war.

For reference: I Want to Live is a Ukrainian government project run by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, established with the support of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU). The project is aimed at providing assistance to:

• Service members from the Russian Armed Forces who want to save their lives and surrender in safe conditions. Participants in the I Want to Live programme can choose whether to remain in Ukraine until the end of hostilities or return home as part of an exchange. Everyone who surrenders is recorded as having been captured in combat.
• Russian citizens who are at risk of mobilisation and being sent to war against Ukraine and want to avoid death.
• Service members from the Russian Armed Forces and civilians who want to switch to the side of good: join Russian units within the Armed Forces of Ukraine or, while remaining in Russia, help Ukraine in its fight against Putin's regime.

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