Kremlin plotting mass recruitment of foreigners in 2026, Ukraine intel reveals

Ukraine’s military intelligence says Russia plans to recruit at least 18,500 foreigners into its army in 2026, expanding a recruitment drive that has already relied on pressure and coercive tactics.

The claim was reported on Tuesday by RBC-Ukraine, citing Ukraine’s military intelligence project “I Want to Live.” According to the report, Russia’s priority targets include citizens of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, with additional recruitment efforts aimed at Bangladesh, Chad, Sudan, Burundi and other countries in Africa and Asia.

The reporting says the Kremlin’s approach is focused on migrants and foreign nationals who may be vulnerable to financial pressure or administrative leverage. Earlier Ukrainian intelligence reporting in March described Moscow as using migration pressure to push foreigners into military contracts.

The new figure, if accurate, would point to a broader effort by Russia to keep up manpower for the war in Ukraine by expanding recruitment far beyond its own borders. It would also underline the extent to which foreign nationals have become part of Russia’s war effort.

Russia has not publicly confirmed the reported 2026 target, and the plan described by Ukrainian intelligence has not yet been independently verified by non-Ukrainian officials in the materials reviewed.

For now, the report adds to a growing body of Ukrainian intelligence claims that Russia is intensifying its search for foreign recruits. The key question is whether other reporting or official statements will confirm the scale and geographic scope of the alleged campaign.