Russia Policy Monitor No. 2704

MOSCOW RECRUITS AFRICANS... AND OTHERS
Russia is finding manpower for its war on Ukraine in an unlikely place: Africa. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has claimed that some 1,400 individuals from 36 African countries have been recruited by the Kremlin to fight in Ukraine. According to Sybiha, these individuals are often lured into service with financial incentives, coerced into joining up, or forced to volunteer for what turns out to be a "death sentence." Ukrainian officials are working together with the governments of several African nations to educate the public about misleading Russian recruitment tactics.

African nations are far from the only target for Russian foreign recruiting, however. Ukrainian officials say that they have identified mercenaries from China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Cuba on the front lines. Many of these mercenaries are either killed or captured during their first combat mission, highlighting Moscow's "meat-grinder" tactics. (Al Jazeera, November 8, 2025)

BELARUSSIAN PRISONERS FORCED TO AID RUSSIA'S WAR
Another source of support for Russia's war also exists closer to home. Belarusian "first-time" prisons, which house criminals who do not have prior offenses, including many political prisoners, now have new production assignments supporting Russia's war of attrition. Several prisons that previously used to specialize in lumber production now make ammunition crates, coffins, plastic grave flowers, and beds for Russian soldiers. Other facilities that produced uniforms, gloves, and workwear for the Belarusian security forces, now churn out combat uniforms and first aid pouches for the Russian military. In some prisons, prisoners are forced to smelt lead, some of which they believe to be sourced from Chernobyl, at risk to their own health.

Such war-related output, moreover, has ramped up. In many facilities, production occurs "non-stop," with three rotating work shifts ensuring a steady stream of goods that are then sent to the front lines. Due to the large military contracts involved, the facility foremen were even made personnel of Belarus' internal security service, and are issued uniforms and act like guards. (Novaya Gazeta, November 10, 2025)

KREMLIN CLAIMS PLOT AGAINST PUTIN'S SPIRITUAL ADVISOR
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) claims to have discovered a Ukrainian plot to assassinate Metropolitan Tikhon Shevkunov, President Vladimir Putin's personal spiritual confidant. A prominent leader of the Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Tikhon has become a symbol of what the Kremlin portrays as a Ukrainian threat to Russian Orthodoxy. FSB officials assert that two clergymen confessed to collaborating with the Ukrainian government to assassinate Tikhon using explosives. (Dagens, November 13, 2025)

KREMLIN WORRIES ABOUT SOCIAL COHESION
In a Kremlin-run journal, senior official Alexander Kharichev recently voiced alarm about the potential for civil war in Russia, citing growing economic hardship and public discontent as potential catalysts for unrest. He noted that high inflation, weakened welfare programs, labor pressures, and mounting war fatigue have all left the state highly divided. Kharichev warned that these divisions, and the erosion of public trust in Russia's government, could allow foreign parties to influence domestic politics, describing the current situation as "one of its toughest domestic challenges in decades." (MSN, November 11, 2025)

RUSSIA SOURCES MOST AMMUNITION FROM NORTH KOREA
As the Ukrainian military focuses on destroying Russian energy, transportation, and production infrastructure to limit its ability to effectively wage its war of attrition, officials report that Russia now sources approximately 70% of its ammunition from North Korea. Pyongyang has supplied 6.5 million shells, along with ground and support troops, to Russia in exchange for military technology and aid. Ukrainian officials also note that the DPRK, along with Iran and China, sustain Russia's war machine by purchasing Russian oil despite Western sanctions. (Kyodo News, November 10, 2025)

[EDITORS' NOTE: Notably, however, this state of affairs seems to be changing. The Kyiv Independent reports that, as a result of its dwindling stockpiles, ammunition supplies from the DPRK are drying up. According to Ukrainian intelligence officials, Pyongyang has cut its artillery shell shipments to Russia by more than half this year.]