More than 1,500 foreign nationals were recruited in Moscow between April 2023 and the end of May 2024 to participate in russia's illegal war against Ukraine, according to recent research by russian media outlet Vazhnyye Istorii. The highest number of volunteers reportedly came from South and East Asia (771), followed by former Soviet republics (523) and Africa (72), according to the UK Defense Intelligence.
Russian military recruitment of foreign nationals is probably largely non-systematic, with most attracted to sign contracts on the basis of financial incentives and a prospective pathway to russian citizenship. It is likely that many foreign nationals are recruited through Moscow due to the city's higher signing-on bonuses, and relative international accessibility.
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Foreign nationals almost certainly make up a very small proportion of the Armed Forces' total recruitment numbers, with a significantly greater emphasis placed on recruiting from within russia. Nonetheless, some recruitment of foreign nationals will almost certainly continue in the medium term as russia maintains its current recruitment strategy, intended to replace heavy battlefield losses without resorting to a second wave of mobilization.
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