Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said that U.S. representatives have tried to recruit for Ukraine’s armed forces in the Philippines.
The U.S. helps provide weapons and intelligence to Ukraine but there is no evidence that it helps with recruitment, which would be illegal under U.S. law. Newsweek has contacted the Pentagon for comment about her claims.
But during a press conference on Thursday, Zakharova said recruitment was being conducted by an American security agency based in Florida, without providing any evidence for the claims. .
She told reporters that preference was given to former employees of Philippine security agencies and retired military personnel with applicants promised a monthly salary of $5,000, according to Russian state media.
She said the prospective troops are trained under the supervision of American instructors and receive a German Schengen visa before heading to the front.
Russia’s defense ministry has repeatedly said that Kyiv uses foreign mercenaries in Ukraine. North Korea has supplied troops to Russia which has also been accused of tricking citizens of other countries such as India to fight.
During the press conference, Zakharova also accused European media and politicians of trying to disrupt the chances of a settlement of the war in Ukraine.
She was referring to the leak of a conversation transcript between U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Vladimir Putin aide, Yuri Ushakov. Bloomberg News reported that in October, Witkoff advised Ushakov on how to pitch a Ukraine peace proposal to President Donald Trump.
Zakharova said the leak was done to “disrupt the political and diplomatic settlement and manipulate the situation for their own purposes.”
