Foreigners offered Rs 16 lakh to fight for Russia against Ukraine: Report

Russia’s Irkutsk region has significantly increased the financial incentive for recruiting foreign nationals and stateless people into its military, offering up to 1.5 million rubles, or around Rs 16 lakh, for each recruit sent to fight in the war against Ukraine, as per a TOI report.

According to The Kyiv Independent, citing independent Russian outlet Vyorstka, the revised payment was introduced through a decree signed earlier this week by Irkutsk Governor Igor Kobzev. The incentive is reportedly the highest offered by any Russian region for recruiting foreign nationals into the military.

Irkutsk has been offering financial incentives to recruiters of contract soldiers since at least April. The previous maximum payment was 400,000 rubles, around $4,700. The latest increase has pushed the top reward for recruiting a foreign national to nearly four times the earlier amount in seven months, Vyorstka reported.


The new decree also establishes a separate category for foreign nationals and stateless people for the first time. At the same time, the payment for recruiting Russian citizens registered outside Irkutsk Oblast has been doubled from 400,000 rubles to 800,000 rubles, or around $9,500.

Russia increases recruitment incentives

The move in Irkutsk comes as Russian regions continue raising recruitment incentives amid Moscow’s ongoing need for additional manpower in the war against Ukraine.

Other regions have also increased payments for people involved in military recruitment. Smolensk Oblast has raised its incentive from 115,000 rubles, around $1,300, to 1 million rubles, or approximately $11,900. In Ryazan Oblast, some recruitment payments have increased to 805,000 rubles, around $9,500.

The rising payouts also coincide with growing reports that Russia has sought to expand its military ranks with foreign nationals, particularly recruits from lower-income countries.

Russia, Ukraine intensify military operations

The recruitment push comes as fighting between Russia and Ukraine continues to intensify. Russia has increased its aerial attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, using ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones in strikes across the country. Ukrainian officials have also reported Russian attacks near the Polish border.

Ukraine, meanwhile, has continued launching long-range strikes targeting Russian oil and industrial infrastructure.

US President Donald Trump has called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to halt attacks on Russian diesel facilities, arguing that such strikes were contributing to a global fuel shortage.

The escalation comes as both sides continue to suffer casualties and infrastructure losses, while Moscow seeks additional manpower for its more than four-year-old invasion of Ukraine.