Brigadier General Dmytro Usov, Secretary of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, spoke during the discussion “Foreign fighters in the Russian army: how to stop the global recruitment scheme,” organized by the international organization Truth Hounds.
“More than 10,000 recruits from Central Asia are fighting as part of the Russian army, around 1,800 from South Asia, over 1,700 from Africa, and, according to various estimates, more than 1,000 from Latin America, as well as about 14,000 from North Korea,” Dmytro Usov said.
According to him, this year Russia plans to recruit a record 18,500 foreign nationals — an important resource for the aggressor state amid heavy losses of its own population in the war against Ukraine.
Usov noted that the recruitment of foreign citizens into the Russian army worldwide strengthens transnational human trafficking networks and therefore poses a challenge to global security.
He stressed that responsibility for the consequences of uncontrolled and illegal recruitment of foreigners through coercion and deception, both in Russia and in other countries, lies entirely with the Kremlin.
The general added that, according to available data, losses among foreign mercenaries of the Russian army in so-called “meat assaults” in the war against Ukraine amount to at least 5,149 people.
“Some were lucky — they ended up in Ukrainian captivity. Today, the Coordination Headquarters is dealing with mercenaries from 48 countries: among the top ones are Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Belarus,” Dmytro Usov added.
