The Kremlin has recruited hundreds of Iranian backed Yemeni mercenaries who have been promised “high salaries” to fight for Vladimir Putin inside Ukraine.
The Yemeni recruits told the Financial Times they have been promised lucrative jobs and Russian citizenship in return for fighting in Ukraine.
A Houthi linked firm helped them arrive in Russia in what the newspaper described as a “shadowy trafficking operation.”
The Yemeni mercenaries were then “forcibly inducted into the Russian army and sent to the front lines in Ukraine,” the FT reports.
💀🇾🇪 Russia recruits Yemeni mercenaries for war in Ukraine, — FT
❗️Russia's operation to recruit hundreds of Yemenis for the war in Ukraine has highlighted the growing ties between Moscow and the Houthis. Yemeni mercenaries are reported to have suffered huge losses. pic.twitter.com/kQKzK8uGue
— MAKS 24 🇺🇦👀 (@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) November 24, 2024
The US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking said that Moscow are “actively pursuing contacts” with the Iranian backed Yemeni militant group, the Houthis and they are discussing weapons transfers, the FT reports.
Lenderking told the FT, “The kinds of weapons being discussed are very alarming and would enable the Houthis to better target ships in the Red Sea and potentially beyond.”
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