Russia Is Not Giving Foreign Recruits Dog Tags. It Is Marking Inventory Numbers Onto Their Skin

Ukraine's Defence Intelligence (GUR) has documented that Russia is applying sequential "inventory numbers" to foreign recruits in its armed forces using durable dyes - henna or jagua - marked onto skin. Standard military identification tags are not issued. The markings last for weeks, cannot be removed with soap and water, and are renewed when they begin to fade.

Russian police have been recorded stopping foreigners - including students and labour migrants - specifically to check whether they carry the numbers. This is how Russia's security services identify and recover deserters.

See also: Miraculous escape of a former Kenyan Defense Forces pilot who was lured into Russia's army

What the Numbers Are For

GUR is direct about the purpose. The numbering system serves two functions simultaneously.

While a recruit is alive, it enables control: a man with a number on his skin who is stopped by police can be identified as a deserter and returned. He cannot simply disappear into civilian life.

After he is killed, the same system enables deniability. A body with no name, no dog tag, and a faded number can be left on the battlefield as "unknown." It can be written off as "missing." The death does not have to be reported. Compensation does not have to be paid. The family in Africa or Asia waiting for news receives nothing - because officially, there is nothing to report.

This is one of the reasons why families of foreign recruits cannot get confirmation of their relatives' status from Russian authorities. The system is not a bureaucratic failure. It is functioning as designed.

See also: Russians are extorting money from Kenyans in exchange for information about their missing relatives

A Documented Pattern

GUR draws a direct comparison to Nazi concentration camp practices, where prisoners were assigned numbers specifically to strip them of identity, name, and legal status. Russia's occupation army, GUR states, is treating foreign recruits as numbered assault units - goods for war rather than people with rights.

The data GUR has gathered is being transferred to foreign partners and law enforcement agencies for inclusion in materials for future international tribunal proceedings against Russia's military and political leadership.

A Safe Way Out

People who were lured into Russia's army have a chance to get out alive with the "I Want to Live" project. Read more details here.

Source: Defence Intelligence of Ukraine