Russia has expanded military recruitment in African countries, including Burundi and Zimbabwe. According to Ukrainian intelligence data reviewed by Bloomberg, the number of people recruited from these countries during the first nine months of 2026 substantially exceeded the totals recorded throughout the previous year.
A presentation obtained by Bloomberg indicates that 699 Burundian nationals were recruited into the Russian military between January and September, compared with 30 during all of 2025. In Zimbabwe, the figure reached 530, up from 65 the previous year.
The materials also describe recruitment in Sierra Leone and other African countries.
Ukrainian intelligence attributes the expansion of foreign recruitment to Russian military losses in Ukraine and the need to replenish personnel.
According to Bloomberg, intermediaries frequently offer men well-paid civilian jobs, including positions as drivers and security guards. Some offers also promise an opportunity to obtain Russian citizenship. However, prospective recruits may not be fully informed about their future duties or the likelihood of deployment to the front.
According to information supplied to the agency by Ukrainian officials, the Russian military has signed contracts with tens of thousands of foreign nationals. Precise figures for recruitment and their distribution across countries cannot be independently verified from publicly available information.
Not every foreign national who voluntarily joins the Russian military is necessarily a victim of deception or coercion. Those circumstances must be established individually.
However, on October 26, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine reported compelling evidence of human trafficking involving the recruitment of men from 29 countries into the Russian armed forces.
The commission documented cases in which men were lured with promises of civilian employment, then coerced into signing military contracts and assigned dangerous missions in Ukraine.
The UN findings confirm that deceptive recruitment practices exist, but they do not independently verify the specific figures attributed to Ukrainian intelligence in Bloomberg's reporting.