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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Russia uses increasingly cunning methods to recruit foreigners to fight against Ukraine. Young men from poor countries are even offered to participate in film productions.
Russia is seeking new ways to lure foreigners into the war against Ukraine. In addition to promises of high earnings and work on the home front, potential mercenaries are now allegedly being offered participation in film shoots, Politico reports.
Ads appeared on social networks styled as posters for an action movie. The poster read: “Global casting. A new film project. Africans sought for male roles.” They used AI-generated images of dark-skinned men in military uniforms for the advertisement.
According to journalists, the advertising is primarily aimed at young men from poor African and Asian countries who lack stable employment and are looking for a chance to earn money. The word shooting in English-language ads can mean both “shooting” and “gunfire.”
The scale of the Russian campaign was uncovered by the African organization Code for Africa. Its specialists found 89 on website pages, seven Facebook accounts and other social media profiles, as well as 39 accounts and channels in messaging apps connected with recruitment. New resources continue to appear.
In this way, citizens of India, Sri Lanka, Cuba, Kenya, Nepal, Botswana, South Africa, and other countries were drawn into the Russian army. The authorities of some states, including South Africa and Kenya, have already demanded Moscow stop recruiting their citizens.
Will Brown, senior research fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told Politico that Russian propaganda in Africa already has a huge network of bots, influencers, and content-promotion specialists. “Now it’s clear that it is also used to recruit desperate young people to the front,” he noted.
According to him, foreigners who end up in the war report racist abuse, theft of money, and coercion to sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry, whose contents they do not understand. After brief training, some of them are said to be sent directly to the front.
As reported, Russia continues to seek people outside the country who are willing to fight Ukraine for money and the promise of a better life — Ukrainian intelligence has traced Russian recruiters’ activity to Indonesia.
Russian losses exceed recruitment pace — Estonian intelligence
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