Russia Sharply Increases Recruitment in Burundi and Zimbabwe, Ukrainian Intelligence Figures Show

Russia recruited 699 men from Burundi and 530 from Zimbabwe into its armed forces in the first nine months of 2026, far more than in all of 2025, according to Ukrainian intelligence figures reported by Bloomberg. The same material says recruitment also rose in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Cameroon. Moscow has not confirmed the numbers, and they have not been independently verified.

What the figures say

Bloomberg’s report, published on 26 October 2026, is based on a presentation it obtained from people familiar with Ukrainian intelligence material. The presentation says the recruitment is meant to “offset massive losses and a shortage of personnel available for mobilisation”.

• Burundi: 699 recruits between 1 January and 30 September 2026, compared with 30 in all of 2025.
• Zimbabwe: 530 recruits in the same period, compared with 65 in 2025.
• Other African countries named: the DRC, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Cameroon, all with “significant” increases. No figures for them were published in the reports we reviewed.
• Madagascar: recruitment there has started for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to the presentation.

The new numbers follow a wider Ukrainian count published earlier in October. Ukrainian authorities said they had identified 45,959 foreign nationals from 151 countries and territories who had signed contracts with Russia’s armed forces, 5,451 of them from African countries. They said 16,168 foreigners signed up between January and September 2026, already more than the 16,085 recorded for all of 2025. Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Belarus supplied the most recruits overall, but numbers were growing fastest in Africa and Latin America.

Why the focus has shifted

According to Bloomberg’s account of the presentation, Russian recruiters moved towards Zimbabwe, Burundi and Sierra Leone after Kenya and South Africa took steps to stop their citizens leaving to fight in Ukraine. The Ukrainian material says Russia now targets countries with weak courts, limited press freedom and weak democratic institutions. It also says Russia has nearly stopped recruiting soldiers in at least nine other African countries and is trying to bring their citizens into its defence-industry workforce instead.

Families of recruits, and Amnesty International in a report last month, have described offers of large signing bonuses, high salaries and Russian citizenship. Some recruits were promised civilian jobs in catering or transport and ended up in military units. Ukrainian intelligence cited an online advert said to be circulating in Zimbabwe for a “programme for specialists from Zimbabwe”. The advert showed a man in military uniform and did not say that signing a contract could mean frontline service in Ukraine.

Russia’s position

Moscow has never officially acknowledged using foreign nationals in combat against Ukraine. The Kremlin says Russia has enough personnel to continue the war, and in September President Vladimir Putin dismissed suggestions that a new wave of domestic mobilisation was being prepared. Ukraine is a party to the war, so its figures should be read with that in mind. They are the most detailed public numbers available, but no independent source has confirmed them.

Why it matters for African states

The recruitment is a separate matter from Russia’s official security partnerships on the continent, but it happens alongside them. Moscow is expanding military-technical ties with several African governments, from training missions in the Sahel to support facilities such as the military repair depot Russia is giving Uganda at Magamaga. Russian-linked forces in Mali have also faced scrutiny over their conduct, as set out in Amnesty’s report on killings by Mali’s army and Wagner.

For governments in Harare, Gitega and elsewhere, the issue is consular and legal as much as military. Their citizens are signing foreign military contracts, often after being misled, and some are dying in a war their states are not party to. Several governments, including Botswana and South Africa, have publicly warned citizens against job offers in Russia. Kenya has protested the recruitment directly to Moscow.

Sources

• Ukrinform: summary of Bloomberg’s report on Russian recruitment in Africa (26 October 2026, Ukrainian)
• SFG Media: Russia is recruiting more citizens of African countries, citing Bloomberg
• The Defense Post: Ukraine identifies 46,000 foreign recruits in Russia’s armed forces (22 October 2026)
• Clash Report on X (first seen)