Shafaq News- Moscow
More than 422,000 volunteers signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense during 2025, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev revealed on Friday, noting that he submitted a report on the recruitment results to President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking during a meeting on the performance of drone units, Medvedev said that 32,000 individuals voluntarily joined military service and completed the required contracts. He stated that “the task set by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Vladimir Putin, to reinforce the army through contract service has been fully accomplished,” adding, “compulsory military service for young people continues without deploying conscripts to combat operations, in line with a special presidential decree.”
Medvedev did not specify the nationalities of the volunteers. However, videos circulating on social media platforms show young Iraqis wearing Russian military uniforms and raising the Iraqi flag on battlefronts.
The Iraqi government has said it does not possess official data on these volunteers. In September, the Iraqi parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee acknowledged to Shafaq News that Iraqi nationals are fighting alongside Russian forces in the war against Ukraine, vowing efforts within Parliament to investigate the matter and curb the phenomenon.
Information obtained by Shafaq News indicates that networks facilitating the travel of volunteers to Russia have been active through intermediaries in southern Iraqi provinces since 2023. Informed sources told our agency that attractive offers by some tourism companies in Baghdad and other provinces, marketed under the banner of European tourism, including trips to Russia and Ukraine at affordable prices and sometimes through installment-based payment plans, have contributed to drawing thousands of young people to travel to both countries.
Several Iraqi fighters participating in the Russia–Ukraine war on Moscow’s side have appealed for assistance to return to Iraq, but no official response has been issued.
Shafaq News has previously published reports and investigations documenting Iraqi families losing contact with relatives who traveled to fight alongside Russian forces since the outbreak of the war in February 2022.
One of the most recent cases highlighted by Shafaq News involved the disappearance of 24-year-old Mohammed Imad. The agency met his mother, Zainab Jabbar, who lives in Al-Musayyib district, north of Babil province.
In a previous exclusive interview, Russian Ambassador to Iraq Alperus Kotrashev stated that “thousands of Iraqis” are ready to join the Russian army if the opportunity is made available to them.
Under Russian law, any foreign national legally residing in Russia and proficient in the Russian language is entitled to sign an official contract with the Russian army, with monthly salaries ranging between $2,500 and $3,000.