Russia Drafted Over 46,000 Ukrainians From Occupied Lands, Crimea Hit Hardest

Russia has forcibly mobilized 46,327 Ukrainian citizens from occupied Ukrainian territories since the start of the full-scale invasion, with the vast majority taken from Crimea, a senior Ukrainian official said on Wednesday.

Brig. Gen. Dmytro Usov, secretary of Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (POW), disclosed the figures at the Crimea Global conference, according to Ukrainian media UNIAN.

Usov said that between February 2022 and July 2025, Russian forces conscripted 5,368 residents from occupied territories in the Donetsk region, 4,650 from the Luhansk region, 560 from the Zaporizhzhia region and 478 from the Kherson region.

He said Crimea accounted for the majority, with 35,271 Ukrainian citizens mobilized into the Russian army.

Usov added that Ukrainian nationals now make up 16 percent of all POWs held in Ukraine, including 6 percent who are residents of Crimea.

Russia has also mobilized former Ukrainian servicemen, according to Usov.

“Two battalions and two separate detachments were formed under Russia’s General Staff from former Ukrainian soldiers. We know of 62 contracts they have signed, and one of these fighters has already been captured by us,” Usov said.

Usov also noted that over 400 Russian soldiers have voluntarily surrendered to Ukraine through Kyiv’s “I Want to Live” (Хочу жить) hotline.

Kyiv’s “I Want to Live” initiative provides instructions and guarantees for Russian soldiers seeking to surrender safely to Ukrainian forces.

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At the same time, Usov said Ukraine’s diplomatic and legal efforts to block Russia from recruiting foreign nationals are showing results.

According to him, around 1,000 Nepalese citizens joined the Russian army in 2022, but the numbers have “dropped sharply” since 2024, with only one Nepalese national signing a contract with the Russian Armed Forces in October 2024.

In September, Kyiv Post gained exclusive access to one of Ukraine’s largest POW camps and spoke with foreign fighters captured after serving for Russia.

In the first interview, a soldier from Ghana, identified as Joshua, said he was studying in Moscow and was prompted to sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense due to financial struggles.

In his interview with Kyiv Post, Joshua discussed his experience on the front line and his Ukrainian captivity, his motivation, his dream of becoming the president of Ghana, and his reflections on Russia’s war in Ukraine.

In the second interview, another fighter from Egypt, identified as Mohammed Salah, said visa problems pushed him to join the Russian army in exchange for citizenship.