Key figures published by I Want to Live on the 22.01.2026
Countries from where recruits arrived to join the war on the Russian side
According to data by "I Want to Live", citizens of 151 countries around the globe have been targeted by Russian military recruitment - often through deception and coercion - to replace the heavy casualties suffered by the Russian Armed Forces.
Recruits per country:
1,000+ recruits
500–999 recruits
100–499 recruits
<100 recruits
Full breakdown by country*
1,000+ recruits
Asia
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Kazakhstan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Tajikistan
- Uzbekistan
- Yemen
Europe
- Belarus
- Moldova
North America
- Cuba
South America
- Colombia
500–999 recruits
Africa
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Egypt
- Kenya
- Zimbabwe
Asia
- China
- Nepal
- Sri Lanka
- Turkmenistan
South America
- Peru
100–499 recruits
Africa
- Chad
- Congo
- Ghana
- Mali
- Nigeria
- Sierra Leone
- South Africa
- Sudan
- Uganda
Asia
- Abkhazia
- Bangladesh
- Georgia
- India
- Indonesia
- Iraq
- Philippines
Europe
- Latvia
- Serbia
North America
- Panama
<100 recruits
Africa
- Algeria
- Angola
- Benin
- Botswana
- Burkina Faso
- CAR
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Liberia
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Morocco
- Namibia
- Niger
- Rwanda
- Senegal
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Zambia
Asia
- Afghanistan
- Bahrain
- Cambodia
- Iran
- Israel
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kuwait
- Lebanon
- Malaysia
- Mongolia
- Myanmar
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palestine
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- South Korea
- South Ossetia
- Syria
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Turkey
- UAE
- Vietnam
Europe
- Albania
- Andorra
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Lithuania
- Malta
- Montenegro
- Netherlands
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
North America
- Anguilla
- Belize
- Canada
- Costa Rica
- Dominican Republic
- El Salvador
- Guatemala
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Mexico
- USA
South America
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Chile
- Ecuador
- Paraguay
- Suriname
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
Oceania
- American Samoa
- Australia
- Fiji
- New Caledonia
*North Korea was intentionally left off this list, as it is directly involved in Russia's aggression against Ukraine — which makes its case significantly different from the other countries.