The exhausting and endless invasion that Russia launched against Ukraine four years ago has caused severe losses for both countries, the most painful of all being the loss of human lives. To replace their fallen soldiers, both sides have developed strategies to replenish their military manpower. In the case of Russia, this includes becoming a recruitment hotspot for Russian army with soldiers from Cuba and Colombia, after having done so in countries located in its direct spheres of influence, such as Central Asia or Africa.
The Kremlin is urgently seeking to enlist recruits to have them ready to be sent to the front. An interesting analysis by the BBC conducted last December, based on obituaries of soldiers published in Russian sources, found that those death notices increased by 40% year-on-year. In total, the British media confirmed, up to that point, the names of nearly 160,000 people killed fighting on the Russian side in Ukraine.
Recruitment of foreigners through deception
The Russian service of the BBC counted Russia’s war losses together with the independent media outlet Mediazona and a group of volunteers since February 2022. It compiled a list of identified individuals whose deaths could be confirmed using official reports, newspapers, social media, war memorials, and graves. Beyond the methodology, the numbers explain Moscow’s need to find recruits, but it is not so easy.
A report by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Truth Hounds, and the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law (KIBHR), published this Wednesday, analyzes Russian recruitment of foreigners and documents Moscow’s campaign to promote the hiring of vulnerable populations using deceptive strategies.
At the state level, the report concludes that the recruitment practices it documents “support a prima facie finding that Russia bears responsibility for the operation of a global human trafficking scheme targeting vulnerable individuals through coercion or deception.” This responsibility arises both from state-organized recruitment directly within Russia, and from Russia’s failure to prevent, investigate and prosecute transnational recruitment networks operating for its benefit.
The Colombian Military Forces are also carrying out a campaign against this type of recruitment: “No Colombian should fight in foreign armed conflicts nor contribute to undermining the territorial integrity of another state,” states a message on the social network X. “Mercenaries not only destroy dreams and hopes, but also directly tarnish the image of our Military Forces and of our country. Be informed, ask questions, do not be part of their game.”
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has recruited at least 27,000 foreign nationals from more than 130 countries to participate in its war, according to the document titled “Fighters, mercenaries or victims of human trafficking? The exploitation of foreign fighters by Russia in its war against Ukraine.”
The figure, according to the authors, suggests a rapid increase and reflects a deliberate and institutionalized strategy that goes far beyond the mere use of volunteers.
“Among Latin American countries, those from which the origin of foreign fighters has been confirmed include Brazil, Cuba, Argentina, and Colombia,” the report states in one section, highlighting Cuba “in terms of intensity of recruitment into the Russian army, while in other countries in the region, recruitment appears sporadic. Available evidence does not indicate the existence of a large-scale recruitment network coordinated at a regional level.”
Lucrative payments entice mercenaries
The document also states that the presence of Colombian combatants among Russian ranks was confirmed in October 2025 by Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, although recruitment mechanisms remain unclear. An intercepted audio recording was released in which individuals identified as Colombian foreign fighters appear to order the execution of civilians.
Regarding Colombia, the report continues, a 2026 investigation revealed how networks operate in Bogotá to recruit former military personnel. According to the findings, some former military members have signed contracts directly with the Russian Federation, including loyalty and service clauses in accordance with the internal regulations of its Armed Forces. Complaints have emerged, mainly concerning deployment destinations that differed substantially from what had been promised.
Likewise, two main recruitment channels were identified: word-of-mouth within military circles and social media/messaging platforms. Several families identified an alleged former soldier as an initial point of contact, who offered security jobs that later resulted in transfers to Russia and incorporation into Russian military forces.
A WhatsApp group was documented offering salaries between 2,200 and 2,500 euros per month (US$2,568–US$2,918), with an initial payment of approximately 17,000 euros (US$19,845), figures similar to those observed in other national contexts.
The document states that, at the same time, a significant number of Colombians are fighting on the Ukrainian side, with an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 having joined the Ukrainian army as contract soldiers, often motivated by offers of high salaries and limited opportunities in their home country, especially among veterans, as well as ideological motives.
They mainly learn about these opportunities through social media. However, there have been several complaints from soldiers and relatives.
Last December, Colombian authorities addressed the issue by approving a bill to ratify the 1989 International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries (UN Mercenary Convention), to curb participation in foreign conflicts.