Fake job advertisements posing as construction, security and even movie roles are allegedly being used to lure foreign workers into Russia’s military recruitment network, according to a new investigation by Code for Africa.
The investigation, reported by Politico, identified 89 websites, seven social media accounts and 39 messaging accounts or channels linked to a network targeting young men in Africa, Asia and Belarus with promises of well-paid work in Russia.
One Facebook advertisement was presented as a “global casting” for a new film project seeking African men for male roles. The advert featured an AI-generated image of Black men wearing military-style clothing and was traced to a Facebook page based in Germany.
Another advertisement from an account called “IRC Russian Bear” showed a Black soldier wearing Russian flags on his uniform and promised US$15,000 upon signing a contract, followed by a monthly salary of US$3,000.
The advert also carried the message: “A chance to change your life.”
According to the investigation, people who clicked on apparently legitimate job advertisements were redirected to websites that collected their personal details and ultimately channelled them towards military recruitment.
Some of the websites reportedly displayed logos of Western media organisations, including the BBC, in a way that could give visitors the impression of endorsement.
The operation also allegedly relies heavily on Western digital infrastructure. Researchers found the network’s main recruitment brand hosted on a server in Amsterdam, while some websites were created using AI tools from US and Swedish companies. Application software from an Austrian company was also reportedly used to collect information submitted by potential recruits before the data was sent to Russia.
Code for Africa said the network consists of several recruitment brands rather than a single organisation, including Military Staff Agency, Work in Russia, IRC Russian Bear and Work Crew Agency.
The researchers said the campaigns specifically target people facing unemployment or unstable employment by advertising salaries that can be significantly higher than what they could earn at home.
Meta has reportedly removed more than 300 advertising campaigns linked to the recruiters, while Google has disputed some aspects of the investigation and said it was reviewing the findings.
The scale of foreign recruitment remains difficult to independently verify. Ukrainian officials have estimated that around 1,700 to 1,800 people from 36 African countries have been recruited to fight for Russia, while other Ukrainian government figures cited by researchers put the number of African recruits at around 3,000.
The investigation comes as Russia continues to seek foreign manpower for its war against Ukraine, with similar recruitment efforts reported among nationals from Asia, Latin America and other regions.
