Russia sets recruitment quotas for foreign nationals living on its territory

Russia has established formal quotas to recruit foreign nationals living within its borders into its armed forces, according to sources within the Russian military obtained by the "I Want to Live" project.

The Main Organizational and Mobilization Directorate of the General Staff, working with the Ministry of Internal Affairs' citizenship and foreign nationals registration service, is currently verifying mobilization resources among male foreigners aged 18 to 60. Such checks have already been conducted across all federal districts.

Military commissariats have been assigned concrete targets: to recruit between 0.5% and 3.5% of the total number of foreigners in each region. Recruitment is channeled through 97 contract service selection points. The Central Military District has the most with 30 points, Moscow and Southern districts each have 21, the Eastern has 14, and the Leningrad district has the fewest with 11. Overall, the Russian Ministry of Defense plans to recruit at least 18,500 foreign citizens in 2026.

The primary focus is on citizens of Commonwealth of Independent States countries, particularly Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Parallel recruitment efforts are underway beyond Russia's borders, targeting Bangladesh, Chad, Sudan, Burundi, and other nations in Africa and Asia.

Besides the selection points, regional recruitment is conducted by pseudo-private military companies created under General Staff control: "Redut," "Convoy," "Wagner-2," "Potok," "Russian Combat Brothers," "Fakel," "Patriot," "Plamya," "Sokol," and "Veterany."

Recruitment schemes extend beyond offers of money, benefits, and Russian citizenship to include practices of deception and coercion. The mechanism involves artificially creating or deliberately exploiting the legal vulnerability of foreigners through expired tourist or student visas, inability to renew visas or legalize their stay within established deadlines, and administrative detention for violating Russian migration laws.

Under these conditions, foreign nationals are presented with an "alternative" that amounts to a choice between lengthy imprisonment - terms of up to eight years have been cited - and signing a contract for military service in Russian armed formations.

We urge governments of countries whose citizens Russia is actively recruiting - primarily Central Asian and African states - to intensify efforts to inform their citizens currently in Russia or planning to visit. Their lives face immediate danger of being dragged into Russia's war against Ukraine with a high risk of not returning home alive.

Source: I Want to Live Telegram channel