The News
Russia has recruited hundreds of Yemeni mercenaries to fight in Ukraine, the Financial Times reported, as the Kremlin increasingly looks to foreign troops to limit the impact of the war on the domestic population.
The men were seemingly recruited by a group linked to the Iran-backed Houthis, which promised them lucrative jobs and Russian citizenship, but they were instead sent to fight in Ukraine, some of the men told the FT.
Both Russia and Ukraine have struggled to recruit enough troops to replace their battlefield casualties; to avoid a costly and unpopular mobilization effort at home, the Kremlin has instead used more foreign fighters, including those from Nepal and India, as well as an estimated 12,000 North Korean soldiers.
The US special envoy for Yemen said Russia is discussing weapons transfers with the Houthis that could allow the group to more accurately target ships in the Red Sea. Since Israel’s war in Gaza began last year, the Houthis have attacked at least 90 merchant ships in an apparent show of solidarity with Hamas, another Tehran-backed group.