Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
Russia has long been a magnet for young people from across the Middle East and Africa seeking affordable higher education, especially in demanding fields such as medicine and engineering. By 2023, Russian authorities estimated that 32,000 students from the Middle East were enrolled in the country’s universities nearly half of them Egyptians. But what was once viewed as a promising academic pathway is now at the center of a growing controversy in Egypt, as evidence mounts that Russian authorities are pressuring foreign students, including Egyptians, to join the army amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The issue erupted publicly after the release of a YouTube video showing a Ukrainian-held prisoner of war, identified as Amar Mohamed, an Egyptian student who had been lured into enlisting. The video sparked outrage in Egypt and shed light on a recruitment effort that appears to blend incentives, coercion and outright exploitation.
A desperate recruitment drive
Since the war began, the Russian military has reportedly targeted Egyptian students and workers, offering monthly salaries reaching US$6,000 and a fast track to Russian citizenship in exchange for enlistment. Some reports go further, claiming that Egyptian prisoners in Russia have been coerced with a brutal ultimatum: fight on the front lines or face deportation and imprisonment. Egyptian media estimate that at least 25 Egyptians recruited as mercenaries have been killed since the war began.
In February 2025, the experience of 34-year-old Georges Nasser from the Minya governorate became emblematic of this growing phenomenon. Nasser and several young men from his village were sent to Russia through an intermediary who promised construction-sector jobs paying US$3,000 a month. In reality, the intermediary was a trafficker exploiting the economic desperation gripping many Egyptians.
Nasser spoke of the crushing disappointment upon landing in Moscow. “We found no factory, no job contract nothing. I paid more than US$2,000 for the trip,” he said. Instead, the group was presented with an unexpected offer: enlist in the Russian army for the promised salary and Russian nationality. “For a moment, I considered it,” Nasser admitted, “but under pressure from my wife and friends, I decided to return to Egypt.” He ultimately had to borrow money from relatives to pay for his ticket home.
From education dreams to military exploitation
For many Egyptians, the path to Russia begins with the limitations of the domestic education system. Medicine and engineering programs in Egypt demand exceptionally high secondary school grades, often above 95 percent, leading thousands of students who narrowly miss the cutoff to seek alternatives abroad. Russia, with its lower tuition fees and more flexible admissions, has filled that gap for years.
But the war has profoundly altered this dynamic. As Russian casualties mount and military recruitment falters, foreign students have become a target. In January 2024, the Russia Today channel published a glowing report on a battalion near Soledar composed of soldiers from Niger, Egypt, Syria and Moldova—portraying them as volunteers driven by affection for Russia. The timing coincided with the circulation of another shocking video: a young Egyptian from Luxor, Mohamed Radwan, captured by Ukrainian forces, speaking to his distraught mother over the phone from captivity.
Radwan’s story mirrors that of others caught in what families describe as a “Russian trap.” He had arrived in Russia in 2021 to study medicine, hoping to support his family back home amid Egypt’s deepening economic crisis. But his dreams collapsed when he was arrested on alleged drug charges and threatened with a seven-year sentence—unless he agreed to join the Russian army.
Economic pressures and coercive tactics
Several Egyptian students interviewed by Equal Times described a recruitment system oscillating between financial enticements and intimidation. The rapid deterioration of Egypt’s economy marked by soaring prices, collapsing currency value and mounting poverty has left many students struggling to cover tuition and living expenses abroad. At the same time, Russia has tightened its academic payment rules, requiring full upfront fees and exacerbating students’ financial vulnerabilities.
“Many Arab students have been lured by the Russian army’s tempting offers,” said a medical student at Kazan University. “But the same authorities also use threats. It’s a cycle of pressure.”
The economic crisis in Egypt has been worsened by the war itself. Ukraine and Russia were key suppliers of wheat and energy, and disruptions have driven prices of essential goods to unprecedented levels. The Egyptian pound has lost half its value in recent years, fueling one of the worst inflation waves in decades.
Egyptian government reacts
Cairo has responded with firm measures. In late February 2025, the government imposed a requirement for prior security clearance for any Egyptian traveling to Russia. The Ministry of Interior also announced that Egyptian citizenship would be revoked for anyone joining a foreign military force explicitly including the Russian army. Mohamed Radwan and others are already subject to this sanction.
“The state had to intervene quickly to check the identity of travelers and the purpose of their trip,” said Egyptian political analyst Al-Sheikh, reflecting official concerns about the rising number of young Egyptians being drawn willingly or under pressure into Russia’s war.
As the conflict drags on and Russia’s need for manpower increases, Egyptian families fear that more young people, already pushed to the brink by economic hardship, could fall prey to a recruitment machine that exploits their aspirations, vulnerabilities and legal uncertainties. What began as a journey for education and opportunity is, for far too many, becoming a pathway to coercion, captivity and in some cases, death.
