By Olha Chepil | 2025-07-17

Russia is enlisting Laotian soldiers to help wage its war with Ukraine and calling it humanitarian aid.

Moscow plans to bring up to 50 combat engineers from Laos to clear mines in Kursk province, Russia, Ukrainian intelligence says.

Ukrainian forces shocked the complacent Kremlin by entering Kursk province last August and holding much of it for seven months. They re-entered the province in May.

The move involving Laos comes after Russia already used troops from North Korea, who suffered heavy casualties in 2024 and 2025 fighting Ukrainian forces in Kursk province.

Foreign fighters serving Russia who have been killed come from a multitude of hard-pressed countries including Cuba, Nepal, India and Zambia.

Officially, the Laotians have a "humanitarian mission." Kyiv calls it a backdoor effort to pull another foreign army into the war.

"Hiding behind humanitarian rhetoric, Russia is attempting to legalize the presence of a foreign military contingent on its territory, in reality using it to support combat operations against Ukraine," Ukraine's defense intelligence agency said on Telegram July 5.

Laos, one of Southeast Asia's poorest nations, is reportedly rehabilitating wounded Russian soldiers for free, further deepening its unofficial role in the conflict.

A humanitarian screen

Although Russia claims it is sending Laotian troops to de-mine territory, analysts say the move amounts to covert military cooperation.

Laos is becoming another source of manpower for Russia's war machine, said Mykhailo Gonchar, a Ukrainian analyst and president of the Strategy XXI Center for Global Studies. The move aligns with the Kremlin's pattern of recruiting from poor countries, he told Kontur.

"Don't think of Laos as an exception. Russia is recruiting fighters from the poorest countries. Who ends up as our prisoners? [People from] Africa, Asia -- especially West Africa. Laos fits into this pattern," Gonchar told Kontur.

Deploying Laotian sappers under the guise of humanitarian aid allows Russia to skirt international rules and mask foreign military involvement, said Gonchar.

"Russia is just looking at where it can squeeze out at least a few thousand 'bayonets' for 'meat grinder assaults.' It's being disguised, but the truth will out," Gonchar added.

Why Laos?

Laos has an authoritarian regime, a small army and longstanding ties to Russia dating back to the Soviet era, Oleksandr Chupak, a Ukrainian analyst with the think tank Ukrainian Studies of Strategic Research, pointed out.

"The country depends heavily on support from Vietnam ... China and, of course, Russia. Laos [has] ... a total population of only about 6 million people," he told Kontur.

Laos has about 29,000 regular troops and 100,000 in its "people's self-defense" militia, said military-political correspondent Serhiy Bratchuk.

"It's starting to look like Laos will now be a new source of manpower for the aggressor country along with North Korea," Bratchuk said.

Russia has previously sourced equipment from Laos, he said. In 2019, Moscow traded four trainer aircraft and 10 T-72 tanks for 31 ceremonial T-34s, a World War II-era model.

"It was like trading beads for gold," Bratchuk said.

The Kremlin's economic motives are clear, analysts say. In countries as strapped as Laos, it is relatively easy to find men willing to join military or so-called humanitarian missions for pay.

Inhabitants of low-income countries "want to earn money. They get dragged into 'humanitarian missions' under false pretenses and then into a contract with the Russian army. It's all very simple: if you want more, go and die for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin," Gonchar said.

Russia values symbolic support more than troop numbers, say analysts.

"It's very important to the Kremlin that other states take its side, to show that we [Russia] are not isolated from the rest of the world. That others are standing up for us, ready to fight against NATO, against the Americans and so on,” Chupak said.

Even a small deployment serves the Kremlin's propaganda goals, said Viktor Yahun, a reserve major general in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

"For Putin, it's important to show that 'the world supports us,' even if it's just a dozen poor soldiers from the jungles," he told Kontur.

A basis for recruitment

Laos is the latest country to contribute either equipment or men, right after Russia lured in Iran, North Korea, Syria and African countries, as well as Belarus.

The Kremlin has been struggling to sustain its war effort.

"Russia has obvious problems with personnel -- there isn't enough manpower for the [high-casualty] meat grinder assaults," Chupak explained, noting that Russia's much-hyped summer offensive failed to capture Sumy, Kharkiv or Kramatorsk.

North Korea may send more troops to aid Russia as early as July or August, South Korean intelligence reported in June.

"The Kremlin is looking for new 'cannon fodder' among poor and weak countries," Yahun said.

With domestic recruitment faltering, Russia is accelerating efforts to legally enlist foreign fighters, analysts say.

Putin signed a decree this month allowing foreigners to serve in the Russian army, even without martial law, according to Deutsche Welle.

Under the new rules, foreigners now may sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry without holding Russian citizenship.

The move creates a direct path for using Laotians in combat, said Chupak.

"They're using any available channels for attracting manpower, and Laos is one of them," he said.

Moscow has not officially confirmed plans to enlist Laotian troops. Vientiane has offered no comment.