Foreign nationals have emerged as the latest casualties of a recruitment pipeline operating out of Russia, with prisoners of war from India, Kenya, Nepal, Tajikistan and several African countries alleging they were coerced into fighting in Ukraine, according to families, officials and multiple international reports.
According to Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, nearly 200 foreign nationals from 37 countries are currently held as prisoners of war.
Ukrainian Brigadier General Dmytro Usov said the recruitment network began operating in 2023 as Moscow sought new ways to replenish its military. He said Ukraine had identified more than 18,000 foreigners from 128 countries who fought or are fighting for Russia — excluding thousands of North Korean troops deployed under a military arrangement between Moscow and Pyongyang.
CNN has reported accounts from several foreign recruits who said they were deceived or pressured into joining Russia’s war effort after travelling to the country on student or visitor visas. Many were promised construction jobs, only to be sent to the front lines soon after arrival.
PBS News reported that more than 12,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed since last autumn. In April, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un confirmed that troops had been sent to Russia under a strategic partnership agreement with President Vladimir Putin.
Two Indian nationals told The Hindu in September 2025 that they were captured in Ukraine while being forced to fight for Russia. They said at least 13 other Indians were with them at the time.
In India, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has uncovered a trafficking network stretching from New Delhi to Tamil Nadu. In 2024, the network allegedly used social media and local agents to lure Indian citizens with promises of well-paid jobs or places at what the CBI called dubious private universities.
Many later found themselves forced into the war with minimal training and were made to sign contracts in Russian that they did not understand.
Concerns over foreign casualties have prompted responses from several governments. Families in India gathered in New Delhi in early November urging authorities to bring their relatives home.
Kenya’s President William Ruto has raised concern over young Kenyans illegally recruited to fight in Ukraine, while South Africa said it would investigate how 17 of its citizens ended up in the conflict after sending distress messages from the Russian-held Donbas region.
India’s foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said 44 Indian nationals were known to be fighting for Russia. He said New Delhi had taken up the issue with Moscow again and urged Russian authorities to release the men and stop the recruitment, adding that India was taking steps to prevent its citizens being misled.
Russia’s push for manpower comes as the conflict is in its third year.
Moscow’s forces are advancing towards the eastern city of Pokrovsk at significant human cost.
Western intelligence agencies estimate that Russia has suffered more than one million casualties, including over 250,000 deaths, since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, reported CNN. The United Kingdom’s Defence Intelligence has said about 1,000 Russian soldiers are killed or injured each day.
The Kremlin has stopped publishing demographic and mortality data, which analysts believe is intended to obscure the scale of losses. Russia also faces long-term demographic pressures, with UN projections suggesting its population could shrink by 25 per cent to 50 per cent by the end of the century.
In May 2024, the CBI announced the arrest of four individuals accused of trafficking Indians to fight for Russia. The suspects were based in multiple Indian cities and allegedly operated with accomplices in Dubai and Russia.
The case of 22-year-old Sahil Majothi from Gujarat has further highlighted the issue.
He was captured by Ukrainian forces in October 2025 while allegedly fighting for Russia.
Majothi had travelled to Russia two years earlier to study computer engineering. His mother told BBC Gujarati that he was framed on drug charges in April and given a choice between prison and military service.
In a video released by the Ukrainian army, he said he accepted service in exchange for freedom. Local leaders have appealed for his return, though he may face prosecution in Ukraine and is unlikely to receive prisoner-of-war protections.
India has repeatedly warned its citizens against accepting any offers to join the Russian army. Jaiswal reiterated the caution in September, saying such offers carry severe risks and jeopardise lives.