Verification within Meta’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Program
On social media, a statement by Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is being circulated, claiming that Americans are recruiting local residents in the Philippines to take part in the war on Ukraine’s side. They are allegedly transported to Germany and then — through other EU countries — to Ukraine.
However, this is not true. The governments of the Philippines and Germany have denied this claim. There is no documentary evidence of such a scheme — contracts, visa data, or testimonies of those allegedly recruited — in existence. 
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The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs and the press service of the country’s president called the claim about the alleged recruitment of Filipinos “fake news.”
Zakharova claimed that Filipino citizens who allegedly signed contracts are issued “work Schengen visas” by the German embassy’s consular section in Manila. However, she confused Schengen visas with work visas. The German embassy in Manila, refuting her statement, emphasized that Schengen visas are intended only for short-term travel and do not grant the right to any employment. The embassy added that candidates for work visas undergo thorough screening.
The spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided no evidence for her claims — signed contracts, visa records, public testimonies from the allegedly recruited, etc. In open sources, including Philippine media, there is also no confirmation of the described “scheme.”
Moreover, there is no evidence online (interviews with fighters, reports in Ukrainian media, etc.) that citizens of the Philippines are fighting at all in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Russians systematically attempt to discredit the Armed Forces of Ukraine by claiming that Ukrainians allegedly deceive foreign mercenaries into joining them. Although citizens of other countries do indeed fight in Ukraine, they are not mercenaries. Such fighters voluntarily join the International Legion or other units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on a contractual basis. Therefore, under international law, they are considered servicemembers who legally serve in a state’s armed forces. Mercenaries, by contrast, are not servicemembers of official armed forces.
Russia regularly accuses Ukraine of crimes that it itself commits. Russians have repeatedly used deception to recruit foreigners to fight against Ukraine. For example, there are testimonies from labor migrants and students from Nepal, Cuba, Somalia, and Sri Lanka who were convinced they were being hired for jobs in logistics and field hospitals, but were later forcibly sent to the front. Western media have also reported numerous cases of recruiting foreigners from the Middle East — they too were promised “peaceful work,” but in reality were sent to the front lines. And in November 2025, police in the Republic of South Africa arrested South African public broadcaster radio host Nonkululeko Patricia Mantula. She and four other people will be tried for recruiting citizens of the country to participate in the war on Russia’s side, which is prohibited by local laws.
Previously, we debunked the fake claim that more than 500 Colombian fighters were eliminated in Ukraine.
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