The Russian military is trying to recruit central Asian migrant workers to serve in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the UK Defense Ministry said in a Monday morning intelligence update.
"Recruiters have visited mosques and immigration offices to recruit," said the UK Defense Ministry. "At immigration offices, staff who speak Tajik and Uzbek routinely attempt to recruit migrants."
High salaries and sign-up bonuses may lead migrant workers to enlist, said the ministry, but these migrant soldiers are likely to be sent to the frontline.
The ministry said that the Kremlin was seeking to fulfill a target of 400,000 additional volunteers to fight in the Russia-Ukraine War, and was seeking to avoid new mandatory mobilizations.