Russia deceives Yemeni citizens to recruit them for war in Ukraine

Russia has recruited hundreds of Yemeni citizens to fight in Ukraine through deceptive methods, reflecting the increasingly close link between Moscow and the Houthis, the Yemeni terrorist group backed by Iran, as well as with the Islamic Republic itself, British newspaper The Financial Times revealed Sunday.

According to the report, the recruitment began last July, and the Yemeni nationals who traveled to Russia told the outlet that they were deceived, as they had been promised well-paying jobs and Russian citizenship. However, the men, who arrived there mediated by a company linked to the Houthis, were forced to join Russian forces and were then sent to fight in Ukraine.

The Financial Times indicated that Tim Lenderking, the U.S. special envoy for Yemen, confirmed that Russia is actively working to strengthen its link with the Houthis and plans to supply weapons to this terrorist group.

Russia helped the Houthis to attack ships in the Red Sea

It is worth noting that after the Oct. 7 massacre in 2023 and the subsequent war by Israel against Hamas and other terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have been attacking a large number of ships in the Red Sea and launching drones and rockets toward the Jewish state.

According to a Wall Street Journal report published in October, Russia helped the Houthis attack cargo and military ships in the Red Sea.

According to the report, made on the basis of statements by a source familiar with the matter, the Russian regime provided the Houthis with access to its spy satellite and military satellite navigation systems so that they could carry out their attacks against different vessels on Red Sea trade routes.

How Russia’s deception works

Majed al-Madhaji, director of the Center for Strategic Studies in Sana'a, Yemen's capital, told The Financial Times that the mercenary shipments to Russia are organized by the Houthis themselves, in an attempt to strengthen and expand their ties with Moscow.

Farea al-Muslimi, an expert on Gulf affairs, argued that only a handful of the Yemenis sent to Russia have any military training and that most of them do not want to be there. He also noted that it is easy for the Russians to recruit soldiers in Yemen, as it is an extremely poor country.

Nabil, a Yemeni recruit, explained that they were tricked into traveling to Russia and signing contracts that they could not read, as they were in Russian.

The recruit added that he had been promised excellent working conditions in security and engineering related jobs. However, weeks later, he found himself with four other newly recruited Yemenis in a forest in Ukraine, dressed in military uniforms with Russian insignia and with scarves covering their faces.

In one of the videos obtained by the British outlet, a Yemeni recruit appears claiming that one of his companions tried to commit suicide. In addition, all the men are shown carrying wooden planks through a forest full of landmines to build bomb shelters and claim to be exhausted because they have almost no time to rest.

Abdallah, another Yemeni recruited by Moscow, told the British newspaper that after arriving in Russia with other Yemenis, lured by the promise of high wages in the drone production industry, an Arabic-speaking man shot above their heads when they refused to sign contracts written in Russian.

Abdallah stated that he signed the contract because of the fear he felt at the time.

A practice that is not new

The report comes months after it was reported that Russia had recruited Nepalese and Indian fighters, and that North Korea had sent around 12,000 troops for the war in Ukraine.