UK challenges Russia over recruitment of foreign fighters at OSCE meeting
Britain’s senior military adviser to the OSCE accused Russia of exploiting foreign recruits and asked Moscow to disclose how many serve in its armed forces.
The UK accused Russia of using deception and coercion to recruit foreign fighters at an OSCE meeting in Vienna on 21 October 2026, according to a statement published by gov.uk. Colonel Joby Rimmer, the UK’s senior military adviser to the OSCE, asked Moscow to disclose how many foreign nationals serve in its armed forces and what safeguards protect their consent.
Rimmer called Russia’s recruitment model ‘coercive and exploitative’. The OSCE lists a plenary meeting of its Forum for Security Co-operation on 21 October; the forum meets weekly in Vienna. The UK’s questions put the treatment of foreign recruits before a body where participating states discuss military security.
Allegations about contracts and consent
The UK statement cited Amnesty International research published in September that, Rimmer said, drew on interviews with recruits from Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa and Sri Lanka. He said it documented promises of civilian jobs, contracts recruits could not read, confiscated passports, minimal training and threats against people who tried to leave. Rimmer said Amnesty assessed that some cases may amount to human trafficking.
Rimmer also cited a US trafficking report describing the fraudulent recruitment of more than 1,000 Kenyan men, many allegedly offered security or construction work. He said Kenya’s foreign minister had told parliament that recruitment of Kenyan citizens by Russia met the definition of human trafficking, and that an OSCE human rights report had identified alleged predatory recruitment of foreign nationals as a new finding. Those accounts were presented in the UK statement; the underlying reports were not independently assessed for this article.
Questions put to Russia
According to Rimmer, Russia’s delegation had previously said foreign citizens sign contracts with its defence ministry and thereby obtain Russian citizenship. He asked what measures ensure recruits freely consent, understand those contracts and can leave military service in accordance with the law. The statement gave no current total for foreign nationals serving in Russia’s armed forces and no Russian answer to those questions.
The exchange followed an accusation that Rimmer attributed to Russia’s delegation the previous week: that Ukraine recruits foreign mercenaries and that more than 20,000 foreign nationals had fought for Ukraine. Rimmer disputed the description of those enlisted in Ukraine’s armed forces as mercenaries. He also said President Vladimir Putin had increased the authorised strength of Russia’s armed forces on 28 September, the fourth such increase this year.
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Sources and context
- Russia's recruitment of foreign fighters is exploitative: UK statement to the OSCEForeign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Colonel Joby Rimmer, UK Senior Military Advisor at the UK Delegation to the OSCE
- Plenary Meetings of the Forum for Security Co-operationOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.