FT: Russia Recruiting Yemeni Houthis To Fight In Ukraine

The men were brought to Russia through a human trafficking operation.

Russia is recruiting hundreds of Yemeni Houthis to fight in Ukraine. The men were brought to Russia through a shadowy human trafficking operation.

This is reported by the FFinancial Times.

Yemeni recruits who traveled to Russia told the Financial Times that they were promised high-paying jobs and even Russian citizenship. When they arrived in Russia, they were forcibly conscripted into the Russian army and sent to the front lines in Ukraine.

US diplomats say the deal between the Kremlin and the Houthis is a sign of how far Russia is prepared to go.

Analysts say few Houthis have been trained in Russia, despite Yemen being a poor country and a good recruiting ground for mercenaries.

The Yemenis' contracts, seen by the FT, listed a company founded by a prominent Houthi politician, Abdulwali Abdo Hassan al-Jabri. The registration documents list the company as a tour operator and a retailer of medical equipment and pharmaceuticals.

According to the publication, the recruitment of mercenaries began in July. One of the contracts was dated July 3 and signed by the head of the recruitment centre in Nizhny Novgorod.

The FT corresponded with one of the mercenaries in Russia. He suggested that he was part of a group of about 200 Yemenis who were conscripted into the Russian army in September. The man said he was lured to Russia with promises of lucrative work in “security” and “engineering”.

After several weeks on the front line, he escaped with four recently arrived Yemenis into a forest in Ukraine. According to the mercenary, one of the men attempted suicide and was taken to hospital.

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