Ahmad, a young man from Yemen whose name has been changed for safety reasons, was recruited by an intermediary for a supposedly well-paid job in Russia.

But instead of working in a Russian coal mine, he found himself, against his will, on the front line in the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.

Other Yemeni witnesses told DW similar stories. They reported that a group of 24 friends and acquaintances had been lured to Russia with false promises of work. Once in the country, the Yemenis were sent to fight in the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Yemeni youth promised 'non-military jobs in Russia'

The statements of these witnesses are consistent with the findings of the Geneva-based Yemeni human rights SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties, whose research is also referenced by the US State Department in its Yemen reports.

"It is impossible to say exactly how many soldiers are fighting on the Russian-Ukrainian front," said Tawfik Alhamidi, director of SAM. "It could be 500 to 700, maybe a little less."

The young men are recruited through an internationally operating network.

"Their employees promise non-military jobs in Russia. They tell them they could earn up to $10,000 [€9,500]," said Alhamidi.

Motivated by misery after more than 10 years of civil war

After more than 10 years of a devastating civil war, the situation in Yemen is dire.

"There is little prospect for the future, and many people can hardly cope with the enormous price increases," said Alhamidi, adding that there are "human traffickers who have exploited this situation for their own purposes and recruited young Yemenis."

Most of the 24 people in the group recruited in and around the cities of Sanaa and Taiz are not married, a witness told DW.

"One of the fighters had recently separated from his wife due to financial difficulties. In this stressful situation, he decided to enlist," the witness said.

Other victims were in similar circumstances. "Their financial situation is very difficult," a friend told DW.

For that reason, the men agreed to travel to Oman, where they signed the relevant contracts without hesitation. According to SAM, however, these agreements were mostly not translated into Arabic and therefore not sufficiently understood by the Yemenis.

Once in Russia, the Yemenis found themselves in completely different situations to those they had been promised verbally.

"Once recruits arrive in Russia, they are subjected to severe abuses, including being forced to fight under harsh and inhumane conditions, being deprived of food and medical care, and suffering injuries or death from indiscriminate shelling on the battlefronts," the report states.

'High level of coordination' between Russia, Houthi rebels

The first Western media outlet to report on Yemeni fighters in the war in Ukraine was the US newspaper Financial Times.

The contracts signed by the Yemenis, which were obtained by the FT, list a company founded by a prominent politician of the radical Islamist Houthi militia, Abdulwali Abdo Hassan al-Jabri. The company is registered in Oman as a tour operator and retailer of medical equipment and medicines, according to the FT.

SAM's report also found that an unidentified person named "Dmitry," who works at the Russian consulate in Oman, is suspected of being active in al-Jabari's office.

"Dmitry's role has been pivotal in facilitating operations between the parties, pointing to a high level of coordination between them [the Russians and the Houthis — Editor's note]," the SAM report states.

Russia looking to 'offset heavy battlefield losses'

According to a report by the US think tank Atlantic Council, the recruitment serves the interests of both the Houthis and Russia.

Russia is increasingly seeking contact with groups in the Middle East that are hostile to the US, while the Houthis are seeking to deepen their ties with Russia.

"Their recruitment is part of a larger Russian effort to use migrant recruits — from Yemen as well as Nepal, India, and North Korea — to offset heavy battlefield losses," said the report, published on November 27.

Reuters news agency reported in September that the Houthis receive financial support for their services and, above all, modern Russian missiles. These missiles are then used in their attacks on international shipping routes in the Red Sea. 

One of the witnesses in Yemen also told DW that his friend and the other Yemenis are almost completely cut off from communication.

"Nobody can reach them, nobody can help them," he said. "Yemenis at the front are completely isolated." Most of their families have not heard from them, he said, adding that "they now fear the worst."

This article was originally written in German.