Russia recruits mercenaries in Africa with a promise of citizenship

According to Ukrainian intelligence services, the recruitment of mercenaries in Africa is overseen by a special unit of the Ministry of Defense in Moscow.

"The aggressor state, Russia, has significantly intensified its campaign to recruit foreign mercenaries for the war against Ukraine: it is recruiting live forces in Central Africa, particularly in Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, and Uganda" - reported the Main Directorate of Military Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR) on its website.

The statement indicates that a special unit of the Russian Ministry of Defense "is responsible for recruiting Africans to participate in 'meat' attacks on Ukrainian soil".

Lt. Col. Ivan Shevtsov explained that "meat attacks involve deploying groups of 50 to 100 soldiers intended for casualties". Such actions were conducted, among others, in the Lyman-Kupiansk direction.

Mercenaries can expect £1,600 as an initial payment for signing the contract. Then, Russia offers them £1,800 per month and health insurance.

Additionally, Ukrainian intelligence determined that mercenaries who agree to fight against Ukraine could receive offers of Russian citizenship. This applies to both the mercenaries and their families.

Just yesterday, Gen. Jürgen-Joachim von Sandrart, commander of the Multinational Corps Northeast in Szczecin, conveyed that Russia might conduct other parallel conflicts at 11:00 GMT.

He added that the conflict does not need to be military, and hybrid warfare may challenge NATO. The general admitted that he is concerned about Putin's "provocations" including the latest attempt to shift the boundary in the Baltic Sea and the Moscow-led migration to the border with Belarus.