Russia is systematically drawing foreigners into the war against Ukraine to make up for losses at the front. According to estimates by Ukraine’s military intelligence, the aggressor state has already recruited more than 28,000 foreign mercenaries.
This was reported by the head of Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence (HUR) at the Ministry of Defence, Lieutenant General Oleh Ivashchenko, in an interview with The Times.
He said Ukraine is trying to stop Russian recruitment abroad.
“We are working to stop this by passing information to the relevant security and intelligence services. We are also conducting non-kinetic operations to inform the public in the countries concerned,” Ivashchenko said.
The head of HUR also said that Russia continues to expand military co-operation with North Korea.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, around 8,000 DPRK troops are currently in Russia’s Kursk region. In the longer term, their number could rise to about 50,000.
- This year in August, Russia lost 43,000 soldiers in the war, while recruiting only 39,000 into the ranks of the occupying army.