27/08/2026
💡 10 ideas to empower Ukraine | Idea 9: Disrupt Russia's deceptive recruitment networks
Russia is looking abroad to feed its war effort. More than 28,000 foreign nationals from 135 countries are estimated to have been recruited, including 3,000 Africans.
⚠️ Many are not simply signing up as mercenaries. Young people looking for work or education are being lured by fake jobs, bogus scholarships and promises of high salaries. Some arrive in Russia only to find themselves sent to the frontline or put to work in drone factories.
Rossella Marangio proposes an anti-scam network bringing together the EU, Ukraine, African partners and civil society to prevent, expose and disrupt these recruitment schemes.
The network would work on 3️⃣ fronts:
✅ Prevention: through awareness campaigns and action against deceptive recruitment ads;
✅ Protection: through confidential reporting, legal support and help with repatriation;
✅ Accountability: by gathering and sharing evidence to identify recruitment networks and their intermediaries.
The EU could start with a pilot involving Ukraine and willing African partners, building on existing law enforcement cooperation. A dedicated rapid response fund could support awareness campaigns, secure reporting mechanisms and targeted sanctions against recruiters and facilitators.
📢 Disrupting these networks would protect vulnerable people, reduce Russia's pool of recruits and strengthen cooperation between Ukraine, the EU and African partners.
🇺🇦 This is one of 10 ideas from our Empowering Ukraine project, showing how the EU can do more for Ukraine through smarter policies, not necessarily more money.
🔗 Read the full chapter on our website: https://www.iss.europa.eu/publications/analysis/empowering-ukraine-chapter9
