Russia is recruiting frontline troops for its war against Ukraine any way it can, and has duped at least 18 US men into fighting.
Moscow has suffered 1.5 million casualties including 500,000 deaths since the full-scale invasion of Ukrainein February 2022, per estimates from the UK, and aggressively enlists foreigners to prop up its war effort.
Most are sent into the “meatgrinder” — the frontlines where they are mostly cannon fodder, quickly mowed down by Ukrainian drones, soldiers or artillery.
“It has become an entire industry and is very profitable. Russia suffers 30,000–40,000 casualties every month and they are no longer able to cover their losses,” Vitaliy Matvienko, who heads a Ukrainian state project on Russian surrenders, told The Post.
“They recruit foreigners, send them to war, and when they are killed, their deaths do not create any negative reaction in Russian society. In most cases, the families of killed foreign recruits do not receive the compensation they are supposed to receive.”
Agents all around the world have been mobilized and use targeted ads on Facebook, TikTok and Telegram to prey on the poor, vulnerable and ideologically obsessed — earning $24,000 per recruit, plus a cut of their salary.
Among those duped was Seth William Baker, a lance corporal from Gilbert, Arizona, who served as a bulk fuel specialist with the 4th Marine Logistics Group. He was killed on the frontlines at the age of 23, just three months after signing up. US recruits are typically paid a $26,000 signing bonus and $2,000 per month.
Ukrainian security officials have identified nearly 29,000 foreigners from 135 different countries —including North Korea, Kenya and Ghana — fighting for Russia but stress that the actual figure is significantly higher. Officials say many are duped online.
That was the case with Baker, who joined the US Marines as an 18-year-old and earned the National Defense Service Medal.
But after refusing to take the COVID vaccine when the Defense Department made it mandatory for all service members, he was discharged from the Marine Corps.
He was then indoctrinated online by Russian propaganda and groomed into joining Putin’s war.
“There’s many reasons why I came here, but one of the big tipping points was when I was a lance corporal,” Baker said in a video recorded inside a Russian bunker.
“They came out with the COVID vaccine mandate in the military. There’s a few of us – not very many unfortunately – that said, ‘We’re not going to take it.’ There’s all this talk about freedom in America, but not for some of us, I suppose.”
Matvienko said Baker’s case was typical of the type of person Russia seeks to recruit.
“He was discharged from military service, failed to get into a police academy, and apparently struggled to find his place in American society. Seth was obviously a young man who was susceptible to influence,” he said.
The Post has contacted Baker’s parents for comment.
He is not alone. Ukrainian intelligence services have identified 17 other Americans who have enlisted into the Russian military.
Former Massachusetts city councilor Wilmer Puello-Mota, who was standing trial for a child porn charge,fled the country and is now fighting in Russia’s war.
The Ex-Holyoke official, 30, who served in the US Air Force for six years, signed his mercenary contract in April 2024 and was seen in a Russian propaganda video planting a US flag in a Ukrainian city.
“Victory will be ours,” he declared in Russian before defending his stance. “I don’t consider myself a traitor. The United States and Russia aren’t at war.”
His legal turmoil began after authorities found naked photos of a 17-year-old girl on his cell phone in 2020. He was charged with child pornography back then even as he tried to claim he thought the victim was 22.
Puello-Mota is still fighting for Russia and last month suffered shrapnel wounds to his leg following an explosion. It is not clear how severe his injuries are.
The most high-profile US case is that of Michael Gloss, 21, the son of a high-ranking CIA official who was killed in the war in April 2024.
Photos of Gloss wearing camouflage military gear and posing alongside Russian soldiers emerged to the shock of his parents Juliane Gallina, the CIA’s then deputy director for digital innovation, and US Navy veteran Larry Gloss.
He was said to have been struggling with mental health issues and stopped taking his medication before going “off the grid” and later resurfacing in the Russian military.
Gloss died from massive blood loss during an artillery barrage in Donetsk while trying to assist a wounded Russian soldier, according to his father.
Putin even presented a medal, recognizing outstanding civilian service, to US special envoy Steve Witkoff to hand to Gloss’ parents.
The latest American to join Russian forces is Derek Huffman, who moved his family to Russia to escape what he called the LGBTQ “indoctrination” in America.
The 47-year-old signed up to fight to earn “respect” and secure Russian citizenship for his wife, DeAnna, and their three daughters, but he soon found himself sent to the frontlines.
“He feels like he’s being thrown to the wolves right now, and he’s kind of having to lean on faith, and that’s what we’re all doing,” his wife said in a now-deleted YouTube video.
But Huffman returned home unscathed after a year, only to tell his supporters that he had “signed another contract” because “victory is close” for Russia.
Except, a 2022 Russian decree states that military contracts are automatically extended until the end of the “special military operation”.
Matvienko says that Russia has a “very strange, almost psychedelic attitude toward Americans.”
“When an American suddenly ends up fighting on Russia’s side, it becomes an almost sacred event for Russian propaganda,” he claimed.
“Their opinions are presented as extremely important. They are invited onto television, featured in reports, interviewed, and taken around Russian media outlets and public events.
“Russian propaganda presents them as proof that ‘people in the West understand what is really going on,’ or that ‘ordinary Americans support Russia,’”.
However, the realities in the forces are much different. Foreign mercenaries have reported suffering physical and racist abuse at the hands of Russian soldiers they are supposed to be serving alongside.
Some are sent on death missions and forced to go on what are known as “meat assaults” where they are quickly killed, as their commanders see their lives as disposable compared to Russians. Others are forced to fight, even when badly injured.
Matvienko added that the foreign fighters are also targeted for their money with a “significant part of their salary taken away”.
“When they arrive at their military units, they are told they must contribute money to the unit’s ‘fund’ to buy drones, vehicles, fuel, and other equipment,” he said. “Those who refuse may be beaten or threatened with execution.”
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