– The situation in Somalia was difficult, so I left for Russia. I worked in a clothing factory for a while, but the pay was miserable. Then I saw a huge advertisement with the logo of the Russian Defense Forces and a phone number. I called the number and was told where to come.
This is how it starts By Adil Abdullah Ahmed, 28, story. Somalian Ahmed ended up in the ranks of the Russian army to fight against Ukraine.
According to various estimates, people from more than 20 countries are fighting in the Russian army. Some have joined the army voluntarily, but some, like Ahmed, have been forced to the front against their will.
Ahmed tells his story to the Ukrainian organization I want to live. It is the Ukrainian military intelligence organization for those Russian soldiers who want to surrender to the Ukrainian army.
contacted the organization and asked to interview Ahmed. The organization first promised to organize an interview, but unexpectedly canceled its promise.
has not managed to independently confirm the veracity of Ahmed’s story.
The place Ahmed was told to go on the phone was the Russian Defense Forces recruiting office.
Ahmed claims in an interview with a Ukrainian organization that he did not know that Russia was waging war in Ukraine. He thought the Russian army was recruiting people for guard duty.
Russia issues tourist visas to Africans
A researcher following the Russian invasion Nikolai Mitrokhin says that Russia has military, political and economic activities in at least 15 African countries.
– Nevertheless, it is quite possible that African countries do not understand what kind of conflict exists between Russia and Ukraine, says Mitrohin.
He is a visiting researcher at the Center for Eastern European Studies at the University of Bremen in Germany and is familiar with the Russian army.
The researcher says that he has seen several stories from foreigners on social media about how residents of poor countries have gone to Russia in search of “easy” money and ended up on the front lines.
Ahmed also admits that he went to Russia for money. He says that many people in Somalia seek to work abroad in order to send money to their families.
– With a Somali passport, it is almost impossible to get a visa to Europe or the United States, but you can get a visa to Russia in a week, Ahmed says.
Ahmed applied for a tourist visa to Russia from Somalia’s neighboring country, Kenya. The man did not have a work permit for Russia, but he nevertheless found a job in a clothing factory.
Russia has started looking for allies in Africa during the war. For example, Russia has granted student visas to around 35,000 Africans from different countries on the continent.
In June, the economic magazine Bloomberg reports that Russia threatens Africans in the country with the denial of student visas if the student does not agree to join Russia’s contract soldier.
According to Bloomberg, citizens of African countries have ended up fighting in Kharkiv.
Who recruits foreigners into the army?
According to Mitrohini, in the past, recruitment was handled in African countries by the mercenary company Wagner, but according to the researcher, there is no evidence that Wagner is currently actively recruiting fighters from Africa.
The researcher does not believe that there is a global recruitment network in Russia, behind which it is a state actor.
– It is probably about individual parties who want to benefit from the big money circulating in the Ministry of Defense.
– Companies that recruit sailors may be behind the recruitments. Such recruitments are made all over the world, and Russia may use them in its attempts to recruit mercenaries, says Mitrohin.
According to Mitrohin, this is indicated by how ineffective the recruitment of foreigners has been.
In addition to African countries, Russia has reportedly recruited Central Asians, such as citizens of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
the BBC last year, it was found out from the grave site surveys that citizens of Central Asian countries have fallen in the Battle of Bahmut in Ukraine.
The Russian army has also reportedly recruited people From Nepal, From Cubafrom India, From Sri Lanka and From Serbia.
Money attracts to the Russian army
Ahmed says that the clerk of the recruiting office promised him a Russian passport and a monetary reward with which he could live “as a king in Somalia”.
the BBC from the document seen, it is clear that Russian recruiters have attracted, for example, Cubans with rewards of up to 2,000 euros.
Russia also pays its own citizens a corresponding compensation for the service.
Mitrohin says that many Russians have recently figured out that it is worth taking advantage of the generosity of the Russian army, because the war situation has become stuck in a positional war and Russia attacks Ukraine mainly with missiles and drones.
– Wagner’s mercenaries and Russian prisoners fight on the front. So very few Russian men end up at the front. Especially this year, when Russia has made only a few major attacks, Mitrohin explains.
According to Mitrohin, rumors about easy money have also spread beyond Russia’s borders. For example, in Somalia, the 2,000 euro reward paid by Russia is many times the local wage level.
Why does Russia recruit foreigners?
Ahmed, who ended up in the Russian army, says that he had no military experience whatsoever. Nevertheless, the Russian recruitment authority offered him a contract as a mercenary.
– There was no interpreter or anyone who spoke fluent English. The clerk dodged when I tried to ask what kind of work it was, Ahmed says.
Researcher Mitrohin believes that foreigners are still being recruited because Russia’s top military leadership and ex-defense minister Sergei Shoigu expressed at the time that foreign soldiers would be useful to the Russian army.
In the 2010s, Wagner hired Syrians for separatist militias in Luhansk and Donetsk on Shoigu’s orders. They proved to be capable fighters.
Moscow Times According to a Russian officer interviewed by -magazine, there are several battalions of foreigners fighting in Russia, with 300-1,000 soldiers.
– It remains to be seen how Russia’s new defense minister will do Andrei Belousov views such a waste of resources, says Mitrohin.
Economist Belousov is estimated to have been appointed as the Minister of Defense, because Russia wants to get the Ministry of Defense’s economy and military industry in order.
According to Mitrohin, Russian commanders hardly want foreigners in their forces for two reasons: the language barrier and motivation.
– A Russian may dream of war heroism and feel a sense of duty. Foreigners don’t have that, says Mitrohin.
Four days of torment
When Ahmed signed the contract as a mercenary, he was taken to what he calls a “children’s summer camp.”
– We were shown weapons and given first aid training. Training at the summer camp lasted 25 days.
After that, Ahmed was sent to Rostov in southern Russia, which is located right next to the Ukrainian border. It was only then that it began to dawn on Ahmed that this was no ordinary guard duty.
According to Ahmed, none of the Russian commanders spoke English, and did not explain where he and the others were being taken.
– The commanders pushed us forward by saying in English go, go, go, Ahmed says.
The Somali ended up spending four days in what he calls the front.
The researcher considers it highly unlikely that a foreigner will end up at the front. According to him, Russia needs foreigners for various tasks on the home front and in Ukraine.
For example, Russia has sent Central Asian migrant workers to dig trenches in Russia’s Belgorod and rebuild occupied territories in eastern Ukraine.
– You can say that those who are not useful in defense end up at the front: war crazy, prisoners and unlucky foreigners, Mitroh sums up.