Russia is reportedly using a tactic to recruit thousands of migrants and foreign students to fight alongside its troops in the ongoing war against Ukraine.
According to Bloomberg, European officials have alleged that the Kremlin is using visa renewal as a means to add extra manpower to its military efforts.
The report states that Russia has been threatening not to extend the visas of African students and young workers unless they agree to join the military.
Additionally, Moscow has been enlisting convicts from its prisons and detaining Africans on work visas, forcing them to decide between deportation or fighting.
This practice of sending migrants and students into battle under duress dates back to earlier in the war, with those troops suffering especially high casualty rates due to their deployment in risky offensive maneuvers to protect more highly trained units.
Russia's ability to mobilize far greater numbers of troops could become a significant factor in the war as President Vladimir Putin seeks to capitalize on a shift in momentum this year.
However, his forces have been grinding forward only slowly in northeastern Ukraine and suffering heavy losses, despite a shortage of troops and ammunition on the Ukrainian side.
The Russian military has lost over 1,200 people a day during May, according to the UK Ministry of Defence, its highest casualty rate of the war. Since the beginning of the invasion, Russia has seen some 500,000 personnel killed or wounded, the UK estimates.
In an effort to maintain public support in Russia, Putin has resisted a full-scale mobilization and has instead stepped up a bombing campaign against Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. Western officials say those attacks appear designed to make the city uninhabitable.
