Russia duped hundreds of Yemeni men to travel to Russia and then forcibly sent them to the front lines in Ukraine, the UK-based Financial Times (FT) reported on Sunday.

The mercenary operation is being facilitated by the Houthi terror group in Yemen, highlighting the growing ties between Moscow and the Houthis.

Yemeni recruits who traveled to Russia told FT that they were tricked into traveling to Russia after being promised a job with a generous salary and even Russian citizenship. But when they arrived in Russia via a Houthi-linked company, they were forcibly inducted into the Russian army and sent as cannon fodder to the front lines in Ukraine.

The forced Yemeni recruits joined about 12,000 North Korean soldiers on the battlefront against Ukraine, as well as mercenaries from Nepal and India.

The report quoted Farea al Muslimi, an expert on the Gulf region at Chatham House, as saying that few of the Yemeni mercenaries have any training and most don’t want to be there.“One thing Russia needs is soldiers, and it’s clear the Houthis are recruiting, [for them]” Muslimi said, describing it as an overture to Moscow. “Yemen is a pretty easy place to recruit. It is a very poor country.”

Nabil, one Yemeni “recruit,” told FT that he was part of a group of about 200 Yemenis conscripted into the Russian army in September after arriving in Moscow. He said that some had military training but many did not and were tricked into traveling into Russia and signing enlistment contracts they couldn’t read.

Nabil said that he was lured to Russia after he was promised employment in the fields of “security and “engineering.” His goal was to earn enough money to complete his studies.

But several weeks later, he found himself with four other Yemeni “recruits” in a forest in Ukraine -without proper winter clothing – carrying wooden planks through a mine-infested forest.

“We are under bombardment. Mines, drones, digging bunkers,” another Yemeni “recruit” said, adding that one of his fellow “recruits” attempted suicide and was hospitalized.

Abdullah, another Yemeni “recruit,” told FT that he traveled to Russia after he was promised a $10,000 bonus and $2,000 per month, plus Russian citizenship, to work in the drone manufacturing industry.

“I signed it because I was scared,” he said, describing his handlers as “scammers who traffic in human beings.”

When he arrived in Moscow, he and his fellow Yemeni “recruits” were driven to a facility five hours away and forced to sign an enlistment contract written in Russian under the threat of a man who spoke “simple Arabic” and shot his pistol over their heads when they initially refused to sign.

Abdullah said that many of the Yemenis in his group died in Ukraine. “It was all a lie,” he lamented.

US diplomats say that the alliance between the Kremlin and the Houthi terror group, which was “unimaginable” before the war in Ukraine, is indicative of how Russia is willing to expand that conflict into new theaters.

US special envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking confirmed that Moscow has active ties with the Houthis and is holding a discussion on transferring weapons to the terror group.

“We know that there are Russian personnel in Sana’a helping to deepen this dialogue,” he said. “The kinds of weapons that are being discussed are very alarming, and would enable the Houthis to better target ships in the Red Sea and possibly beyond.”

“We’ve seen reports that there are discussions around [anti-ship missiles] and other types of lethal equipment that would augment what the Houthis are already able to do,” Lenderking added.

Regarding the Yemeni “recruits,” Lenderking said: “I would say that it definitely concerns us,” he said. “It is part of this trend, and it’s not something that would necessarily surprise us.”

Maged Almadhaji, the head of the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies, a Yemen-focused think-tank, said Russia too is taking an interest “in any group in the Red Sea, or in the Middle East, that is hostile to the US.”

Abdullah was one of 11 Yemeni “recruits” who left Russia for Yemen via Oman earlier this month, thanks largely to the efforts of the International Federation of Yemeni Migrants, who pressured the Yemeni government after a public outcry.

Ali Al-Subahi, the chair of the Federation’s board, said “This is a humanitarian issue that unites all Yemenis, regardless of political affiliation”. He stressed that hundreds of Yemenis are still in Russia. “We are following up on their removal from the battlefields,” he said.

YWN readers should not expect protests on the streets and university campuses of Western countries in response to this alarming humanitarian issue. Why? Because the perpetrators are not Jews or Israelis.

Russia is not the only country in the Axis of Evil to take advantage of the poverty of Yemenis. Iran has been sending them to fight against Israel and has long taken advantage of the poverty in the country to bribe the Houthis into attacking Israel.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)