Ukrainian intelligence: Russia recruiting mercenaries from Central Asia, prisoners

The Main Directorate of Intelligence under the Ukrainian Defence Ministry has said that Russia is trying to recruit mercenaries among the citizens of Central Asian countries, prisoners and representatives of remote regions to participate in the war against Ukraine.

Russia is actively holding a campaign under the slogan "from each entity of the Russian Federation in a battalion". The Kremlin obliged each of 85 Russian regions, including occupied Crimea and Sevastopol, to form and financially stimulate one new battalion of "volunteers" to participate in the war against Ukraine, UNIAN reports referring to the Main Directorate of Intelligence.

“Frankly speaking, not all regions are ready to create such battalions consisting of local people. In particular, the Russian authorities are forming the so-called "mayor's regiment", in which people from other regions and even citizens of Central Asian countries, namely, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are mainly recruited. A high salary and the opportunity to obtain Russian citizenship are offered to encourage them,” the message said.

According to the message, the military personnel is recruited through private military companies, the National Guard and Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic (LDNR) to avoid undesirable mobilisation.

“There are cases of coercion to sign “contracts” against the local population in the temporarily occupied territories of Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions. Russia allows recruiting militants even among prisoners,” the message said.

According to the message, the work is underway to recruit former graduates of the Chelyabinsk Tank School in the reserve under 50 years old. They are recruited as volunteers for a tank battalion, which is being formed tentatively in Perm.

“T-72 tanks are obtained,” the message said.