Russia expands campaign to recruit Africans for the war against Ukraine

The Russian Federation has sharply intensified and expanded its recruitment program targeting citizens of Africa’s most disadvantaged countries to offset substantial losses in its military units. Source: Bloomberg

During the first nine months of the year, Zimbabwe, Burundi, and Sierra Leone became key targets for recruiters. This followed official efforts by the governments of Kenya and South Africa to block the mass departure of their citizens for Russia by issuing public warnings and holding diplomatic talks with Moscow.

Potential mercenaries are lured with large one-time signing bonuses, higher salaries, and promises of expedited Russian citizenship. People are often enticed by false job offers in transportation, logistics, or food service, then sent directly to the front lines. According to intelligence data, around 700 people were recruited from Burundi alone over nine months, and more than 500 from Zimbabwe. In total, Ukrainian agencies have identified over 45,000 foreign nationals from 151 countries who signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense, including more than 5,000 people from African countries.

In response to recruiters’ activities, several African governments issued strong statements. In Zimbabwe, two Russian nationals suspected of organizing recruitment networks were arrested, while Kenya’s foreign minister personally visited Moscow to demand an end to the recruitment of Kenyans, whose numbers in the Russian army are estimated at a minimum of 1,000. Faced with growing resistance and diplomatic pressure, Russia has redirected its recruitment efforts toward countries with authoritarian regimes and weak legal institutions, while also redirecting mercenaries from other regions to work within Russia’s military-industrial complex.

Recall that Russia is putting recruitment in Africa on a state-run assembly line.