By AFP | 2025-04-14

KYIV -- Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week more than 150 Chinese nationals were fighting for Russia's army in its war against Ukraine and accused Moscow of "dragging" other countries into its invasion.

It was the latest accusation of foreign involvement in a conflict that has seen both Russia and Ukraine deploy fighters from other countries.

Here is what we know about their use on the battlefield:

North Koreans

The most significant presence of foreign fighters in the war is Russia's use of North Korean troops in its western Kursk province.

Kyiv, the West and South Korea all say Pyongyang dispatched more than 10,000 soldiers from its army after Ukraine launched a shock cross-border offensive there last August.

North Korean officials initially denied the deployment, though Russian President Vladimir Putin sidestepped the issue when asked about Western satellite images apparently showing North Korean troop movements.

"Images are a serious thing; if there are images, they reflect something," he said in October.

Ukraine last year said it had captured two wounded North Korean soldiers, publishing video interrogations with them.

'Volunteers,' coerced fighters

Other foreign fighters on both sides are largely volunteers who traveled to fight on their own accord, moved by a desire to help Ukraine defend itself in the face of the Russian invasion, or lured by high salaries on offer by both militaries.

Moscow has faced allegations and complaints from other countries, including India and Bangladesh, that military recruiters have duped or coerced their citizens into fighting for the army.

Meanwhile, Russia classes foreigners fighting for Ukraine as "mercenaries," a crime punishable by years in prison under Russian law.

Moscow has offered fast-track citizenship to those who join its army during the Ukraine offensive in a bid to attract recruits.

Zelenskyy last week said Russia had been recruiting Chinese fighters through advertisements on TikTok and other social media channels.

How many?

Neither side routinely provides information on how many foreign fighters have joined their militaries.

In March 2022, two weeks after Russia invaded, Ukraine said more than 20,000 had said they wanted to sign up to join a specially created military unit for foreigners, called the "International Legion."

Ukrainian officials have not given any detailed update on how many of them actually served in combat or on the size of the Legion today.

Russia has similarly not given any information on how many foreign citizens have joined its army, but last November, the Interior Ministry said it had awarded Russian citizenship to 3,300 foreigners that year who had served in its military.

Which nationalities?

Throughout the conflict, AFP journalists in eastern Ukraine have spoken to soldiers fighting on the Ukrainian side from the likes of the United States, Britain, France, Japan, Ireland and as far away as Colombia.

Many had professional military experience and were motivated to fight against Russia's invasion and help Ukraine defend itself.

Notable numbers of Georgians and Chechens -- who fought against Russia's army in the 1990s and 2000s -- are known to have traveled to Ukraine to support Kyiv's military.

So have some Russian citizens, outraged at President Vladimir Putin, who decided to take up arms against their own country.

Alongside the use of North Korean troops, Russia has largely recruited soldiers from poor countries, offering huge salaries to fighters from Cuba, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Sierra Leone and Somalia, among others -- according to accounts from prisoners of war and media reports in Ukraine, Russia and those countries.

Moscow has recruited hundreds from ex-Soviet countries in the region, according to media reports in Central Asia.