Russia Steps Up Recruitment of African Fighters as Losses Mount in Ukraine War

In brief

• Russia has intensified recruitment of African men to replace battlefield losses in Ukraine.
• Recruits from Burundi rose to 699 in the first nine months of 2026, against 30 in all of 2025.
• Zimbabwe recruits reached 530, up from 65, with rises also reported in several other African countries.

Recruitment figures by country

Russia is recruiting more men from African countries to fill gaps in its army, according to a presentation based on Ukrainian intelligence that Bloomberg obtained and reported on Monday (Tak Rosja szuka mięsa armatniego. Kampania się rozszerza – Onet) (Rosja szuka żołnierzy w Afryce. Werbunek gwałtownie rośnie – Puls Biznesu) (Rosji brakuje żołnierzy. Kreml coraz mocniej werbuje w Afryce – Bankier.pl). The document says the aim is to offset heavy battlefield losses and a shortage of people available for mobilisation (Обіцяють роботу – опиняються на фронті: Росія масово вербує африканців – Bloomberg – TSN) („Mięso armatnie” Kremla. Rosja rozszerza werbunek o obywateli państw afrykańskich – RMF24) (Росія шукає найманців в Африці через втрати у війні проти України, — Bloomberg – Espreso).

• Burundi: 699 men recruited from January 1 to September 30, 2026, against 30 in all of 2025
• Zimbabwe: 530 recruited in the same period, up from 65 a year earlier (Rosja rozpoczęła intensywną kampanię w Zimbabwe. Tak szuka "ochotników" na wojnę z Ukrainą – Onet)

Wider expansion

The presentation also records a marked rise in recruits from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Cameroon. Madagascar has, for the first time since the full-scale invasion began, been targeted, following a coup there last year. Ukrainian authorities say they have identified 45,959 foreigners from 151 countries who signed contracts with Russian forces, 5,451 of them from African states.

Why Africa

Kenya and South Africa have moved to stop their citizens from travelling to fight, and Ghana and Botswana have issued warnings to their people. Recruiters have turned to countries where economic hardship and weaker institutions make false promises of civilian jobs, large signing bonuses and Russian citizenship more persuasive. Some governments are growing concerned about the trend.

Moscow has not publicly acknowledged enlisting foreigners to fight in Ukraine. Kremlin officials have said Russia has enough manpower to continue the war, and Vladimir Putin recently rejected suggestions of a new mobilisation wave.