Moscow has previously pulled mercenaries into its war effort in Ukraine and now appears to be recruiting much further afield.

Summary

Russia has reportedly recruited hundreds of Yemeni fighters to bolster its forces in Ukraine, promising high wages and Russian citizenship, according to the Financial Times.

Recruitment was facilitated by a company linked to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, amid growing ties between Russia and Iran-backed groups.

The move reflects Moscow’s reliance on foreign fighters to sustain its war effort, which has seen heavy casualties due to “meat grinder” tactics.

Similar reports have detailed recruitment of fighters from Syria and Nepal, alongside Russian reliance on mercenaries like the Wagner Group.

  • Flying SquidMEnglish
    21•21 hours ago

    Are we still calling the child soldier-conscripting Houthis the good guys because they are against Israel or can we finally admit that just because you’re against a bad thing doesn’t mean you’re a good thing?

    • @IndustryStandard@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4•11 hours ago

      Yemeni citizens were promised high wages and Russian citizenship before traveling to Russia to be "forcibly inducted into Moscow’s army and sent to the front lines in Ukraine

      Nothing about Houthis but do rant off about the people standing up to Israel.

      • Flying SquidMEnglish
        0•11 hours ago

        I’m not sure what you’re saying, but since my comment criticized both Israel and the Houthis, all I can think is you didn’t read it very carefully.

        Either that or you have a very unrealistic and black-and-white view of the world where there’s either pro-Israel groups who are 100% bad or anti-Israel groups who are 100% good. I hope not, but my hope that people will not have trouble understanding that child murdering war criminals vs. genocidal regimes means everyone else loses whoever wins have been dashed so many times before.

          • Flying SquidMEnglish
            -1•11 hours ago

            Conscripting child soldiers are their current actions.

            Which is why I condemn both them and Israel.

            You, apparently, feel that they do not deserve to be condemned despite both putting children on battlefields and fighting alongside Russia in Ukraine because they also oppose Israel.

            • @IndustryStandard@lemmy.worldEnglish
              1•10 hours ago

              I have seen a lot of Houthi combat footage from the last year and exactly zero of it was child soldiers. Do you believe children are firing Palestine 2 cruise missiles at Tel Aviv?

                • @IndustryStandard@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  0•9 hours ago

                  Thank you for the link.

                  Reading the report I do not understand tell whether it accuses the Houthis of training children to become soldiers (similar to military recruiters or camps in America), or sending those children to the front lines to fight while they are still underage.

                  • Flying SquidMEnglish
                    0•9 hours ago

                    What exactly do you think they’re recruiting child soldiers for, the craft services table?

                    This is some real wilful denial of war crimes.

                    How do you even know the ages of the people you see in battlefield footage? Can you tell a 13-year-old from a 21-year-old on a battlefield at a distance via streaming video? What is it, 24k?

    • NoneOfUrBusiness
      18•19 hours ago

      I don’t think anyone around here who isn’t a tankie thinks the Houthis are good guys in general.