Russia hiring Central Asian migrants as soldiers to fight in Ukraine War: UK intel

Moscow has been avoiding recruiting Russians to boost its armed forces for the Ukrainian war and is instead recruiting Central Asian migrants and neighbouring countries as soldiers, British intelligence has claimed.

“There are at least 6 million migrants from Central Asia in Russia, which the Kremlin likely sees as potential recruits,” the Defence Ministry said on Sunday (Sept 3) in its latest intelligence update.

The ministry said that Russia wants to avoid another unpopular general mobilisation at all costs before the presidential elections next year.

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This move "allows the Kremlin to acquire additional personnel for its war effort in the face of mounting casualties" and "avoid further unpopular domestic mobilization measures in the run-up to the 2024 presidential elections," according to the Ministry.

Russia looking to plug rising casualties

Though Russia hasn’t provided any official casualty numbers, US officials last month claimed that Russia's military casualties are nearing 300,000, of which as many as 120,000 are deaths and up to 180,000 are injuries.

Since late June, Russia reportedly put up military advertisements targeting Armenian and Kazakhstani migrants, mainly ethnic Russians from the Kostanay region, offering down payments of 45,000 rubles ($5,140) and starting salaries of 190,000 rubles ($1,973).

Moreover, they are being offered "fast-track citizenship" if they join the fight in Ukraine, with salaries of up to $4,160 on the cards.

There are upwards of six million Central Asian migrants in Russia, all of whom are "potential recruits" in the Kremlin's eyes, the UK MoD said.

“Exploiting foreign nationals allows the Kremlin to acquire additional personnel for its war effort in the face of increasing losses,” the British Ministry of Defence statement said.

The British Ministry of Defence releases daily updates on the progress of the Russian war in Ukraine since the start of the conflict, which has been chastised by Moscow accusing London of spreading disinformation.

Russia continues hiring spree

On Sunday, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said that Moscow recruited some 280,000 people into the army since the start of the year.

“According to data from the Ministry of Defence, 280,000 people have joined the Russian army on contracts from January 1,” Medvedev, the deputy chair of the Russian Security Council said, according to the Tass news agency.

“Part of them were in the reserves, part of them volunteers and other categories,” he added, during a visit to the Far Eastern Russian island of Sakhalin.

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on Ukraine-Russia war on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos

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