Seventeen people have been arrested after young Iraqis were recruited or tricked into joining the Russian army to fight against Ukraine, Iraq's National Security Advisory announced on Thursday.
In a statement to the state-run Iraqi News Agency, security official Saeed Al Jiyashi said two of those arrested have been sentenced to life imprisonment, while others are on trial. Mr Al Jiyashi didn't give more details on whether the suspects acted individually or were linked to any groups.
Some Iraqis had been offered work or study visas in Russia that "transform into recruitment contracts," he added. Some Iraqis had been taken as prisoners of war by Ukraine, he said. Others are believed to have signed up voluntarily.
“The Iraqi government has taken the issue of Iraqi recruitment into the Russian army very seriously," Mr Al Jiyashi said. He said Iraq had told Russia that the procedures are "incorrect and illegal, as they involve young Iraqis in this war".
"This is done through deception and manipulation, using contracts or studies within Russia that then transform into recruitment contracts," he said.
Having set its sights on the swift capture of Ukraine in 2022, Russia's army has become bogged down in a four-year war that has depleted its forces and ammunition. Estimates suggest that about 200,000 Russian troops have died
Mr Al Jiyashi said Iraqis arriving in Moscow were forced to take part in the war. In one case, he said, an Iraqi artist took to social media to reveal his "coercion through a fraudulent contract".
He added that the Iraqi government has contacted Ukraine to secure the release of conscripts. Iraq hopes to raise the issue with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and has opened a hotline for those affected.
Mr Al Jiyashi said a delegation would soon visit Moscow to establish how many Iraqis have been recruited. As a precautionary step, scholarships and studies in Russia have been suspended in 2026.
Russian law allows foreign residents who speak Russian to join its military under contract. Following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Moscow significantly relaxed these rules to make it easier for foreigners to enlist, often in exchange for fast-tracked Russian citizenship.
Unofficial figures put the number of Iraqis recruited into the war at around 5,000, with 3,000 fighting for Russia and 2,000 for Ukraine.
It is unclear who is involved in organising the recruitment, but Iraqis typically obtain tourist visas from travel agencies who make all other arrangements, Iraqi officials said.
The recruits are paid up to $20,000 once they sign the contract, plus a monthly payment of about $3,000 which depends on the areas and missions they are deployed in. There are also promises of a piece of land and passports after one year, it is believed.
The Russian Embassy in Baghdad last year arranged trips to Moscow for the families of killed Iraqis to pick up their bodies or see their wounded sons.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Russia of recruiting more than 1,700 Africans, adding that Moscow was using deception to trick them into fighting.
"We clearly see that Russia is trying to drag African citizens into a deadly war," Mr Sybiha told a news conference. "According to our data, there are currently over 1,780 citizens from the African continent fighting in the Russian army."
