Russia recruits around 1,800 foreign nationals every month

As of 1 October, the identities of 45,959 foreign nationals who signed contracts with the Russian armed forces had been established. They are citizens of 151 countries and representatives of unrecognised territories.

Source: Brigadier General Dmytro Usov, Secretary of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, as reported by the headquarters' press service

Details: Updated figures clearly show the growing scale of Russia's recruitment of foreign nationals:

• 2022 – 94 people
• 2023 – 4,067
• 2024 – 8,877
• 2025 – 16,085
• the first nine months of 2026 – 16,168.

Russia recruited more foreign nationals in the first nine months of 2026 than in the whole of 2025, the Coordination Headquarters noted.

According to intelligence estimates, Russia's target for 2026 is 18,500 recruits. It is currently recruiting around 1,800 foreign nationals every month. If this pace continues, the target will be exceeded as early as November, and the number of new contract soldiers could reach 21,500 by the end of the year.

The largest numbers of foreign recruits have come from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Belarus. Meanwhile, recruitment is growing fastest in African and Latin American countries.

In the first nine months of 2026 alone, 1,449 Colombian nationals, 699 Burundians, 530 Zimbabweans and 503 Peruvians signed contracts with the Russian armed forces.

Since 2022, citizens of 59 countries have been captured by Ukrainian forces. A survey of foreign prisoners of war conducted by the I Want to Live project found that.

• 46.7% signed contracts in exchange for Russian citizenship
• only 28% did not know they would be fighting against Ukraine
• 41.4% were recruited through military enlistment offices and recruitment centres, indicating the direct involvement of Russian state structures in recruiting foreign nationals.
• 48.8% were captured after being wounded
• 79% want to return to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange.

Russia lures foreign nationals with promises of citizenship and money, then sends them on assault missions. Those who survive are left without support or care from the Russian authorities once they are captured, the Coordination Headquarters warned.

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