Russia is recruiting foreigners to work in the occupied territories and take up arms in the war against Ukraine.

The Taliban, which controls Afghanistan, has agreed to increase the number of Afghan migrant workers in Russia tenfold. Currently, around 100 Afghan workers are engaged in construction in Russia, with another 1,000 expected to arrive soon. Plans are also underway to deploy Afghan builders to the Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine – the DPR and LPR – where they will assist in clearing territory and rebuilding infrastructure.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, cooperation with the Taliban, designated a terrorist group by Russia in 2003, has significantly intensified.

Furthermore, Russia reported that during talks in Pyongyang, an agreement was reached to send 1,000 North Korean sappers and 5,000 military construction workers to aid in restoring the Kursk region. North Korea might also send approximately 25,000 workers to staff a Russian drone factory.

Ukrainian intelligence indicates that citizens from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and other Central Asian countries, who come to Russia in search of work, are increasingly being mobilized for the Russia-Ukraine war, organized into separate units primarily deployed in the most dangerous front-line areas.