Manuel Mogato | October 5, 2026
An estimated 40,000 foreigners have volunteered to fight in the nearly five-year Russian-Ukrainian conflict in Eastern Europe.
Most of these fighters were hired and promised bigger paychecks for their risky military service. However, few returned from the front lines to enjoy retirement.
Many of these soldiers-for-hire, or mercenaries, end up dead or captured.
At least 14 Filipinos were known to have been recruited to fight in the war, according to security experts. One was reported killed, and another was captured.
Like many Filipinos looking for better opportunities abroad, people from poor countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America have been very vulnerable to recruitment to join the Russian-Ukrainian conflict since 2021.
South Asians, Chinese, and North Koreans volunteered to fight for Russia. More nationals, from at least 70 countries, have been recruited by several private military companies in the United States and Europe to fight for Ukraine.
The recruits joined nearly 30 foreign military units in the Ukrainian Army, including the Ukrainian Foreign Legion organized on orders of Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2022. (Also read: Philippines should avoid getting involved in the Ukraine-Russia conflict_
Some security experts said Kyiv has reportedly intensified its recruitment of mercenaries from Asian and Latin American countries to replenish manpower lost in the renewed Russian offensive.
They said Ukraine’s defense ministry said it needs more frontline troops after its infantry and assault units lost about 50 percent.
Russia’s hybrid warfare, adopting Ukraine’s strategy to use drones, has caused trouble in Ukraine after its US-supplied Patriot missiles ran out of projectiles. (Also read: Ukraine offers to build a drone factory in the Philippines)
The losses forced Zelenskyy to replace the miitary’s commander-in-chief, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, and to reinstate Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov in July 2026. Fedorov has announced his intention to run for president in new elections that Zelenskyy may call soon.
Security experts also said Ukraine has opened more embassies in Asia and intensified recruitment efforts through its missions and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Reports said that the NGOs promised $10,000 monthly salaries and European citizenship at the end of the conflict to attract more recruits. Those who opted to become Ukrainian citizens are given a shorter 12-month term if they apply.
When the foreign legion was created in 2022, mercenaries were offered only $5,000 a month, and inexperienced fighters were offered as little as $500 to $1,000 a month.
But Ukraine had problems with inexperienced mercenaries; they easily ran from Russian missile attacks and exposed their positions by posting on social media sites.
Many did not survive the war, and their pay was divided among leaders who recruited them. Nothing was given to their families.
Priority was given to those who were trained to operate uncrewed aerial and surface vehicles, as well as skilled mercenaries in sabotage operations and guerrilla tactics.
Former servicemen were also prioritized and offered a three-year contract, but they cannot terminate their service within six months.
Security experts said the recruits were also promised a return trip to their home country at any time, but it has not happened unless they die in battle.
The slain mercenaries are not compensated, and some of them were reported missing on the battlefield and were not paid the promised salary.
There were also reports that wounded mercenaries were not compensated and did not receive medical treatment on the front line.
Mercenaries on both sides of the fence don’t have legal rights. Their families and immediate contacts were suppressed, as Ukraine adopted a strict policy of a mono-national state.
On some fronts, security experts said racism and cruelty were observed as Caucasian mercenaries imposed harsher rules on colored volunteers, such as Asians and Africans.
The huge pay attracts mercenaries to fight for either Russia or Ukraine. But the conditions could be harsher once they were sent to the front lines.
A few got lucky and survived the war, but the majority of the inexperienced are fed as cannon fodder in the conflict.