At least 122 citizens of Turkmenistan have signed contracts with the Russian Defence Ministry since the beginning of 2025 and been sent to fight against Ukraine.

Source: I Want to Live project

Details: The I Want to Live project noted that Russians are continuing to enlist Turkmen nationals into assault units despite attempts by the Turkmen authorities to limit the recruitment of their citizens.

Quote: “It is worth noting that although Turkmenistan has the lowest number of identified mercenaries among Central Asian countries, since 2023 the annual pace of their recruitment has only been increasing. Russia is actively trading its citizenship to achieve this, granting it to anyone who agrees to sign a contract and go to die in an attempt to capture some nameless wooded area somewhere in Ukraine. Money and Russian citizenship remain the main incentives for these mercenaries.”

Details: The project stressed that foreigners are most often sent directly to the line of contact. They are all placed in assault infantry and are the first to take part in so-called “meat-grinder assaults”.

For reference: I Want to Live is a Ukrainian government-run project designed to help soldiers of the Russian and Belarusian Armed Forces surrender safely. The project was launched in September 2022 by Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, which operates with the support of Ukraine’s Defence Ministry and Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.

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