Russia has recruited hundreds of Yemeni mercenaries to fight in Ukraine, the Financial Times reported Sunday, in a move that raises concerns over Moscow’s deepening ties with Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
The Houthis, an Iran-backed group responsible for attacks on Israel and chaos in the Red Sea, reportedly facilitated the recruitment effort.
Houthis publish a boat they've destroyed in the Red Sea
According to Yemeni nationals interviewed by the newspaper, they were promised high-paying jobs and even Russian citizenship. However, upon arriving in Russia with the help of Houthi-linked organizations, they were forced to enlist in the Russian army and sent to the front lines in Ukraine.
This recruitment follows earlier reports of Moscow enlisting fighters from Nepal and India, as well as receiving some 12,000 North Korean troops amid manpower shortages in its nearly three-year war in Ukraine.
The Financial Times noted that Russia’s efforts in Yemen underscore its growing alignment with Iran and its proxies amid its confrontation with the West. U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking confirmed that the Kremlin is actively building ties with the Houthis and has discussed weapons supplies for Yemen.
“We know that there are Russian personnel in Sana’a helping to deepen this dialogue,” he said. “The kinds of weapons that are being discussed are very alarming, and would enable the Houthis to better target ships in the Red Sea and possibly beyond.”
American diplomats have reported in recent months that Russia is also providing the Houthis with information to aid their missile launches.
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Putin using Houthi desire to foster ties with Russia as leverage to exploit Yemenis looking for work
(Photo: AP)
Maged Almadhaji, head of the Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies, a Yemen-focused think-tank, told the Financial Times that the shipments of mercenaries to Russia are organized by the Houthis themselves in an effort to tighten and expand ties with Moscow.
Farea al Muslimi, a Gulf affairs expert, added that only a few of the Yemeni mercenaries sent to Russia have any training, and many do not want to go: “One thing Russia needs is soldiers, and it’s clear the Houthis are recruiting [for them]. Yemen is a pretty easy place to recruit. It is a very poor country.”
The newspaper reported obtaining contracts signed by Yemeni recruits, bearing the name of a company identified as a tourism and medical equipment transport company, owned by a prominent Houthi politician. Its investigation indicates that the recruitment of Yemeni soldiers began as early as July.
A Yemeni recruit named Nabil told the Financial Times that he was part of a group of about 200 Yemenis recruited to the Russian army in September after arriving in Moscow. He said some were experienced fighters, but many had no military training at all. He recounted that they were deceived and brought to Russia to sign recruitment contracts they could not read.
Nabil testified that he was lured with promises of excellent working conditions in "security" and "engineering," hoping to earn enough money to complete his studies. A few weeks later, he found himself with four other fresh Yemeni recruits in a forest in Ukraine, dressed in Russian military uniforms with their faces covered with scarves.
"We are under bombardment. Mines, drones, digging bunkers," a man is heard saying in a video obtained by the newspaper, reporting that one of his colleagues attempted suicide and was taken to a hospital. According to the Financial Times, the men in the video say they are carrying wooden planks through a mine-filled forest, apparently to build a shelter from the bombings: “We don’t even get five minutes to rest, we are so tired.”
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Abdullah, another Yemeni recruited by Russia, told the newspaper that he was promised a $10,000 bonus in addition to a $2,000 monthly salary and eventually Russian citizenship if he worked in Russia manufacturing drones. He arrived in Moscow on September 18 and, along with other Yemenis who arrived with him, was forcibly taken to a facility about five hours from Moscow. There, a man speaking elementary Arabic fired a gun above their heads when they refused to sign recruitment contracts written in Russian.
"I signed it because I was scared," Abdullah told the newspaper. He said they were then loaded onto buses, underwent basic military training, and were sent to a base near Rostov, close to the Ukrainian border. According to him, many from this group were killed in Ukraine, brought to the war by “scammers who traffic in human beings”. “It was all a lie.”