Russia has sent hundreds of Yemeni mercenaries to fight in Ukraine after a company with ties to the Iran-backed Houthi terror group tricked them into traveling to Moscow, where they were forced to sign up for the Russian military, according to a report.
Several of the recruits claimed they were approached in July by the Al Jabri company — founded by prominent Houthi politician Abdulwali Abdo Hassan al-Jabri — with the promise of securing a new life in Russia, the Financial Times reports.
Instead, the men were reportedly coerced to sign an enlistment contract they could not read and shipped off to the frontlines as part of a growing relationship between the Kremlin and the Houthi rebels.
One recruit, identified only as Nabil, told the FT he was just one of some 200 Yemenis forcibly conscripted into the Russian army in September, noting that many of them had no military training at all.
Nabil said he joined Al Jabri, which is registered as a tour operator and retail supplier, in hopes of securing a job in security or engineering to pay for his studies back home.
A month later, he found himself tossed in the front lines, dressed in Russian military wear and hiding in a forest from a Ukraine counter strike.
Others told the outlet they were promised a salary of $2,000 a month, with a $10,000 bonus, to work in Russia manufacturing plants, only to find themselves forced at gunpoint to enlist in the army once they arrived in Moscow.
Representatives for al-Jabri and his company could not be immediately reached for comment.
Farea al Muslimi, an expert on the Gulf region, said it was clear Russia needed to replenish its frontline troops, with Western intelligence alleging Moscow has had 700,000 Russians injured or killed since its invasion began in 2022.
The situation has only gotten worse for Russia recently, with officials claiming the Kremlin lost an average of 1,500 soldiers a day in October, the worst month of casualties for Moscow as the war approaches its third year.
“One thing Russia needs is soldiers, and it’s clear the Houthis are recruiting,” Muslimi told the FT. “Yemen is a pretty easy place to recruit. It is a very poor country.”
The Yemeni men added that many of the foreign fighters tricked into fighting for Russia have been killed on the frontlines.
Tim Lenderking, the US special envoy for Yemen, added that Russia has been pursuing stronger ties with the Houthis and discussing weapons transfers.
“We know that there are Russian personnel in Sanaa helping to deepen this dialogue,” he said. “The kinds of weapons that are being discussed are very alarming, and would enable the Houthis to better target ships in the Red Sea and possibly beyond.”
The Houthi terrorists have been plaguing the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden for more than a year, attacking merchant and military ships with alleged ties to Israel as a show of solidarity for Hamas.
Along with the Houthis, Russia has bolstered its forces with more than 10,000 soldiers from North Korea as part of its new military pact with Kim Jong Un.
Reports also emerged earlier this year of Moscow enlisting the aid of thousands of mercenaries from Nepal and India to fight in the front lines.
Russia’s use of fighters and weapons from a multitude of other nations prompted Valery Zaluzhny, Kyiv’s former military commander in chief and current envoy to the UK, to comment that “the Third World War has begun.”
