At least 596 Belarusians signed contracts to serve in the Russian Army during the first six months of 2025.
The Ukrainian project “I Want to Live” reported on this.
Analysts obtained lists containing the names, personal information, ranks, and badge numbers of 596 Belarusians who joined the Russian Armed Forces between January and July 2025. The report noted that 96 people on the list were recorded as deceased at the time of publication.
The project stated that the published lists are incomplete, as they do not include individuals with dual Russian and Belarusian citizenship.
Earlier, the project published a similar list of 742 Belarusians who signed contracts in 2023-2024 and fought for the Russian army against Ukraine.
Some of these individuals were captured by Ukrainian forces and interviewed by “I Want to Live,” allowing researchers to partly profile a Belarusian mercenary in the Russian military. For instance, Igor Sokolovsky and Yevgeny Kamenkov lived in Russia before joining the army and, facing the threat of imprisonment, chose contract service as an alternative.
Most end up in units directly involved in assault operations and suffer heavy frontline casualties.
“If you turn back, they shoot. If you do not follow the order, they shoot. In my presence, they executed eight people, not counting the Ukrainian prisoner of war… In my group, only nine out of 82 remained,” Yevgeny Kamenkov said.
Belarusian law has a specific criminal code article for mercenary activity, which carries a prison term of up to seven years. However, since 2014, no Belarusian citizens fighting for Russia have faced charges.
The Belarusian Cyber Partisans project confirmed that the country’s top military and political leadership is aware of the mass involvement of its citizens in foreign hostilities but has largely ignored the issue.
Researchers cross-checked some names from the “I Want to Live” lists with government records, finding documents noting deaths caused by explosive and shrapnel injuries sustained in combat.
Cyber Partisans also discovered that the lists include individuals with criminal records, former Ministry of Internal Affairs staff, and KGB employees. Although not all mercenaries held Belarusian passports as of 2021, most remain Belarusian citizens.
