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TOPSHOT – Russian Foreign Ministry building is seen behind a social advertisement billboard showing Z letters – a tactical insignia of Russian troops in Ukraine and reading “Victory is being Forged in Fire” in central Moscow on October 13, 2022. Five Russians drafted to fight in Ukraine, as part of the “partial” mobilization ordered in September, died after joining the army, authorities said, as similar announcements have multiplied in recent days. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV \/ AFP) (Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Russia is increasingly outsourcing its war in Ukraine. To offset record losses and dwindling recruitment, Moscow is importing manpower from abroad. What began as a regional invasion has turned into a multinational proxy campaign of authoritarianism against Ukraine.<\/p>\n
According to Ukrainian officials, as many as 25,000 Cubans could soon be fighting for Russia, overtaking North Koreans as the largest contingent of foreign troops on the battlefield. \u201cIt is beneficial for Putin\u2019s regime to attract Cuban mercenaries,\u201d said<\/a> Andriy Yusov of Ukraine\u2019s military intelligence in evidence shared with members of the U.S. Congress on Sept. 19. \u201cIf a foreigner dies, there are no social payouts and no responsibility; there are no relatives inside Russia who are unhappy with the war; and of course, fewer dead Russians.\u201d<\/p>\n British intelligence estimates<\/a> that Russia has suffered over one million casualties, forcing the Kremlin to recruit or coerce foreigners from Africa, Latin America and Central Asia to fill the gaps.<\/p>\n The Lure and Deception Behind the Cuban Deployment<\/p>\n For many Cubans, the appeal is financial. With promised salaries of around $2,000 per month, far higher than wages at home, thousands have reportedly signed contracts that place them on the front lines. Others say they were duped with offers of construction jobs in Russia, only to find themselves sent to the trenches.<\/p>\n Cristina Lopez-Gottardi, an assistant professor at the University of Virginia\u2019s Miller Center, told me in an interview that Cuba is in a severe economic and energy crisis. She noted the average monthly wage on the island is roughly $20, while recruits are reportedly being offered about $2,000 a month to fight for Russia, a sum astronomical by local standards. \u201cThe economics alone make this a powerful draw,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n A man carries collected garbage on a street in Havana on July 21, 2025. Poverty levels have increased sharply as the Caribbean country reckons with its worst economic crisis in three decades, marked by shortages of food, medicine and fuel and daily power blackouts. Cuba’s Minister of Labor and Social Security, Marta Elena Feito, resigned on July 21, 2025, after stating that there are no “beggars” on the island, but rather people “disguised as beggars”. (Photo by Yamil LAGE \/ AFP) (Photo by YAMIL LAGE\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n Havana has denied direct involvement, but analysts say the scale of recruitment would be impossible without tacit approval from Cuban authorities. An unclassified Oct. 2 State Department cable seen by Reuters<\/a> instructed U.S. missions to press allies to oppose the annual U.N. resolution on Cuba, citing Washington\u2019s assessment that 1,000\u20135,000 Cubans may be fighting in Ukraine.<\/p>\n Oleksandra Ustinova, a Ukrainian member of parliament, told me in August that Cuba\u2019s deployment is about politics, not necessity. \u201cThe North Korean and Cuban deployments are political gestures, not signs of Russian shortages,\u201d she said. \u201cRussia has recruited around 20,000 Cubans; more than 1,000 are already fighting in Ukraine, and we\u2019ve killed about 40. We literally have their passports as proof. It\u2019s about showing they have reliable partners.\u201d<\/p>\n She added that Russia\u2019s reliance on authoritarian allies is part of a broader divide reshaping global politics. \u201cThe world is increasingly split between democratic nations and authoritarian regimes \u2013 Russia, Iran, and North Korea among them,\u201d Ustinova said. \u201cIf Russia needs 10,000 extra troops, its partners send them. North Koreans haven\u2019t gained much; they\u2019re mostly being used as expendable infantry.\u201d<\/p>\n Cuba\u2019s motivations, meanwhile, are both economic and ideological. \u201cCuban soldiers are paid exceedingly well,\u201d Alexander Motyl, professor of political science at Rutgers University, told me. \u201cIf they die, their widows will be rich. If they live, they\u2019ll be rich heroes. Either way, much-needed money is brought into Cuba, and the regime can take credit.\u201d<\/p>\n He noted that Havana may also be seeking to enhance its revolutionary credentials and \u201cpoke Washington in the eye\u201d by openly aligning with Moscow. \u201cIt\u2019s a symbolic gesture that plays well at home,\u201d Motyl said.<\/p>\n At the same time, Russia\u2019s dependence on such partnerships reflects a more fundamental weakness. \u201cSourcing soldiers from places like Cuba, North Korea, and across Africa and Central Asia is a sign of weakness \u2013 possibly even desperation,\u201d Motyl noted. \u201cPutin sees that Russians are increasingly unwilling to die for nothing, so he lets foreigners fight and die in their place.\u201d<\/p>\n By July 2025, foreigners made up 49% of captured Russian fighters, up from 1% in 2022. Serhii Kuzan, chairman of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center, told me in an interview, \u201cWithout foreign recruitment, Moscow would likely be unable to sustain offensive operations.\u201d<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s reliance on foreign fighters now extends far beyond its traditional allies. A Bloomberg investigation from June 2024 revealed<\/a> that the Kremlin has coerced thousands of African students and migrant workers into joining the army, threatening them with deportation if they refused. Using tactics pioneered by the Wagner Group, officials have pressured young Africans and Central Asians to fight in Ukraine, often under false pretenses, with many suffering catastrophic losses on the front lines. <\/p>\n TOPSHOT – In this pool photo distributed by Sputnik agency, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un (L) during their meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur region on September 13, 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un both arrived at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East, Russian news agencies reported on September 13, ahead of planned talks that could lead to a weapons deal. (Photo by Mikhail METZEL \/ POOL \/ AFP) (Photo by MIKHAIL METZEL\/POOL\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n POOL\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n An investigation from The Telegraph from June 2025 uncovered<\/a> an even darker side. Desperate Africans were lured to Russia with fake job offers \u2013 including positions in \u201cshampoo factories\u201d \u2013 only to be detained on arrival and forced into the army. Dozens of captured recruits from Cameroon, Senegal, and Zimbabwe described being promised factory or kitchen work, only to be sent to the front lines after a week of training.<\/p>\n Even as Russia relies on North Korea for manpower, Pyongyang has turned the war into a propaganda tool to cement loyalty at home and signal strength abroad. According to DW, state media in North Korea recently aired<\/a> a documentary showing soldiers fighting \u2013 and dying \u2013 in Ukraine, portraying their deaths as \u201cheroic sacrifices.\u201d The program highlighted two young soldiers who detonated grenades to avoid capture, hailing them as martyrs.<\/p>\n Ukraine\u2019s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov warned that the experience North Korean troops are gaining in Ukraine is transforming their army. \u201cThere are currently only three countries in the world with experience fighting a modern war on a long front line using nearly all conventional means \u2013 Ukraine, Russia, and North Korea,\u201d Budanov told<\/a> The Japan Times in August.<\/p>\n An Axis of Authoritarian Support<\/p>\n