Soldiers from Togo arrested in Ukraine – Russia recruits from at least 48 countries

Two citizens from West African Togo have been captured after fighting for Russian forces in the war, Ukraine’s military confirms for Kyiv independent.

They are not alone. The foreign soldiers on the Russian side are believed to be tens of thousands – and come from at least 48 different countries.

Putin has for a long time denied that Russia is using soldiers from other countries. But there is plenty of evidence of the opposite.

Foreign soldiers Has been part of the war – on both sides – ever since it started. The most talked about on the Russian side are perhaps Chinese and North Koreans.

In January this year, two North Korean soldiers were taken prisoner by Ukraine. A total of approximately 11,000 soldiers from North Korea are estimated to have been sent to the front in the autumn of 2024, followed by a few thousand at the beginning of 2025.

Recently, Russia confirmed for the first time that North Korean soldiers fought on their side, when the Russian commander Valerij Gerasimov thanked the North Korean soldiers for their « strength and heroism ».

At the beginning of April, two Chinese soldiers were captured in the Donetsk region. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyj claimed in conjunction with the fact that at least 155 Chinese soldiers fight for the Russian army.

But the military forces From other countries recruited by Russia has a much more varied background than that. Recently, a review was presented showing that they come from countries all over the world.

A leak from a database belonging to Moscow’s military recruitment efforts shows that approximately 1,500 foreign soldiers from a total of 48 different countries were recruited between April 2023 and May 2024. The leaked information was published by the Russian news channel Important stories April 23 this year.

Nepal tops the list, with at least 603 recruited soldiers during the period. Examples of other nationalities that are included are Sinhalese (64), Chinese (51), Indians (43), Serbier (8) and Cubans (8).

Just Nepalese is believed to be common as soldiers on the Russian side. In total, it can be up to 15,000 soldiers from Nepal who have fought in Ukraine.

Many of the soldiers from the poor mountain land has been recruited with promises of a high salary and a quick path to a Russian passport, according to previous information to CNN.

– I did not recruit in the Russian army for pleasure. I had no opportunity to get a job in Nepal. But in retrospect, it was not the right decision. We did not understand that we would be sent to the front so quickly, and how terrible the situation would be, 37-year-old Ramchandra Khadka from Nepal has previously told CNN.

Exactly how many Foreign soldiers who are currently fighting or have fought on the Russian side of the war is impossible to establish. But the Russian tactics at the front – which is sometimes mentioned as the « meat grinder » – require a large influx of new soldiers.

The two Togolese citizens who were now arrested in Ukraine were brought behind the light when they were recruited, according to statements from authorities in Togo. They are about students who were attracted with offers of scholarships, but that ended at the front, according to the authorities.