“At least 18 thousand foreigners from 128 countries of the world and unrecognized territories fought or continue to fight as part of the armed forces of the Russian Federation in the war against Ukraine; 3,388 of them have already died.β, β write: www.pravda.com.ua
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with soldiers who fought in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Photo by Tstak Source: Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War
Details: As the Secretary of the Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Brigadier General Dmytro Usov, noted during the Crimea Global international conference, we are talking about 18,000 people whose names “known for sure” to Ukraine.
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He reminded that Since 2023, Russia has created an extensive network of recruiters around the world. Thus, according to him, the occupiers are trying to compensate for the significant losses of their army in the war.
Usov said that at the beginning, the number of contracts signed by foreigners with the Russian armed forces amounted to hundreds per month, and later it increased to thousands per month.
He explained that “the main motive for the majority of such mercenaries is financial gain”, but emphasized that “many people ended up in the Russian army due to deception or coercion.”
Usov also noted that Ukraine holds captive citizens of 37 countries of the world who fought on the side of the occupiers, and added that “the Russian Federation is not interested in returning citizens of other countries from captivity in exchange for Ukrainian prisoners.”
“Russia has not yet asked for an exchange of any foreign citizen, except for citizens of North Korea,” Usov said.
He assured that the Coordination Headquarters is doing everything necessary to return all Ukrainian prisoners from Russian prisons and torture centers as soon as possible.
Usov also emphasized that Ukraine manages to significantly reduce the pace of international recruiting carried out by Russia, thanks to the coordinated work of the headquarters, GUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and people’s deputies.
“In 2023-2024, almost 1,000 citizens of Nepal signed a contract with the Russian army. In 2025, as of October 1, only one person from this country joined the Russian army,” said a representative of the Coordination Headquarters.
Prehistory:
- In the fall of 2024, it was reported that soldiers from the DPRK were already fighting in Ukraine at that time. It was also noted that several thousand North Korean soldiers were already undergoing training in Russia at the time and were likely to be involved in the war. In November 2024, the United States confirmed that North Korean troops participated in hostilities in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation.
- In December 2024, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced that the Kursk region of the Russian Federation had been deployed about 12 thousand North Korean soldiershe also reported that they were already then the first losses among soldiers from the DPRK.
- Only in April 2025, the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, confirmed that he was indeed sending his troops to Russia for the war against Ukraine. He stated that this is in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the DPRK and the Russian Federation.
- In June 2025, North Korea’s state media for the first time released footage showing Kim Jong-un participates in the burial of his soldierswho died during Russia’s war against Ukraine.
- In August, the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un awarded the soldiers and commanders of his army who participated in the battles in the Kursk region on the side of the Russian invaders and met with the families of the victims.
- In October, the North Korean state news agency CTAK reported that Kim Jong Un plans to build a museum in Pyongyang in honor of military personnel of the North Korean armywho took part in Russia’s war against Ukraine.