More than 15,000 foreign nationals from 115 countries have taken part in the fighting, according to the latest Russian estimates
Published 17 Mar, 2025
Foreign nationals fighting alongside Ukrainian troops are continuing to suffer heavy casualties as Russian forces push out enemy invaders from Kursk Region. Over the past several weeks, Moscow has consistently reported the elimination of hundreds of Kiev’s troops and foreign mercenaries in the region.
Over 15,000 foreign citizens are believed to have taken part in the fighting, according to the latest estimates provided by the acting head of the Russian delegation at talks in Vienna on military security and arms control issues, Yulia Zhdanova.
Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Moscow has repeatedly warned that foreign mercenaries fighting alongside Kiev would be treated as legitimate targets and would not be provided legal protections under the Geneva Convention.
Following Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk in August 2024, Russian investigators found evidence that foreign mercenaries had played an active role in the invasion. Last week, the Russian military reported that most of the enemy forces have already been pushed out of the region and that the remaining Ukrainian troops have been “encircled” and “isolated.”
One captured Ukrainian soldier has claimed that Kiev’s troops have been prevented from leaving the region by foreign mercenaries, who have threatened to shoot anyone who was trying to retreat.
RT’s Saskia Taylor has taken a closer look at who exactly has been fighting on Kiev’s behalf, and what for.