1/ As Russia’s invasion nears its fourth year, Moscow is struggling to replenish its ranks and is increasingly turning to foreign fighters to sustain the Kremlin's colonial war in Ukraine. 🧵
2/ In early October, Ukrainian troops captured a 22-year-old Indian fighting for Russia. He claimed he’d been arrested while studying in Russia and was forced to sign a military contract to be freed — trained for just two weeks before being sent to the front.
3/ Russia has reportedly recruited tens of thousands of foreigners from the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia through social media campaigns. Many were promised non-combat roles and citizenship — only to end up on the battlefield.
4/ In Kenya, police rescued over 20 men from a trafficking ring that was sending recruits to fight for Russia. The men were lured with fake job offers — a glimpse into Moscow’s expanding network of coercion and deceit abroad.
5/ The largest foreign contingent may soon be Cubans. A U.S. State Department cable reported up to 5,000 Cubans fighting for Russia, while Ukrainian officials say it could soon be as high as 20,000-25,000.
6/ Even Russian lawmakers have begun to justify this. “If young people from Cuba want to help our country, there is nothing strange about that,” said Duma Defense Committee head Andrey Kartapolov — a rare admission of Moscow’s foreign recruitment drive. https://x.com/Gerashchenko_en/...
7/ First denying their presence in late 2024, the Kremlin would later go on to confirm the presence of North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia — praising them as “heroes” who died alongside Russian troops. What was once denied was then being openly celebrated.
8/ Why this desperation? The UK Ministry of Defense estimates well over one million Russian troops have been killed or wounded since 2022 — the highest toll for the Kremlin since WWII.
9/ Moscow’s “human wave” tactics demand an endless supply of bodies for the meat grinder in Ukraine. Death via the drone wall. But mobilizing more Russians risks backlash — the 2022 draft triggered mass exodus and unrest. So, the Kremlin turns to foreigners and convicts.
10/ Independent outlet iStories found that between April–June 2025, just 38,000 people volunteered for service — 2.5x fewer than a year earlier. Recruitment bonuses can’t mask Russia’s shrinking pool of willing fighters. https://x.com/Tatarigami_UA/st...
11/ For Putin, foreign recruits are not only expendable — they’re cheap and politically safe. There are no payouts when they die, and their deaths don’t stir public anger inside Russia.
12/ As Ukraine’s intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov put it: “If a foreigner dies, there are no social payouts and no responsibility. There are no relatives inside Russia who are unhappy with the war.” https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/stat...
13/ Putin’s hunt for foreign troops shows how deep Russia’s manpower crisis has become. With fewer Russians willing to fight, he faces a choice between another unpopular mobilization or expanding recruitment abroad—neither will fix his decimated army.
14/ The mix of Cubans, North Koreans, Indians, and Africans in Russia’s ranks shatters the myth of limitless manpower. Moscow’s forces are overstretched and vulnerable—making it crucial for Ukraine’s allies to increase support as Putin’s war machine weakens.
End of the 🧵 Source: https://www.atlanticcouncil.or...
They will need to keep increasing bonus payments to Russians to keep the bodies flowing into the meat grinder. Can Moscow sustain these payments in the long-term? https://x.com/Gerashchenko_en/...
Russian soldiers must be doing well out there.
"Another mobilization risks provoking backlash not only against the war, but against his rule itself." To avoid that, the Kremlin promotes the idea that participation in the war is voluntary. https://kyivindependent.com/ru...
"🇷🇺 is avoiding doing what is always done before, which is drawing upon either a large peasant serf army or a mass Soviet conscription system to fight. & that’s very expensive. 🇷🇺 has to pay its soldiers as well as pay for materiel production for the war." https://nymag.com/intelligence...
Even Russian prisoners are now less willing to die in the meatgrinder. https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/stat...
At least 314 Belarusian citizens have been killed while fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, according to a report published on Oct. 13 by the Ukrainian project "I Want to Live." https://kyivindependent.com/ex...
"Torture and threats of rape. Discipline in the Russian army is maintained through constant violence." https://texty.org.ua/articles/...
@DVKirichenko @threadreaderapp unroll pls