According to The Moscow Times, Russians living in Thailand have begun seeing ads on social media recruiting Thai citizens through the T2R — Promo agency. The ad offers a one-year contract for people aged 20 to 58, and no military experience or knowledge of Russian is required.
Volunteers are promised 2.5 million baht for a year of service, a free flight to Russia, payment for food and accommodation, as well as the opportunity to apply for Russian citizenship after the contract ends. The text says that the service will take place away from the front line and will be related to security at and around a strategic facility, as well as logistics, security systems, technical support, and drones.
The phone number listed in the ad said that recruits are sent to one of the units in Zabaykalsky Krai. The agency claims that the risk is fairly low, security is guaranteed, and the position and unit will be determined after the contract is signed; they did not explain why Zabaykalsky Krai was chosen specifically.
A representative of the Russian army said in a comment to “Echo” that they need people who will shoot down drones because they are attacking targets across the country. According to him, contract soldiers from Thailand may be used to deliver supplies and protect military camps from drones, but it is impossible to guarantee a specific job in advance.
Against this backdrop, Thai police carried out raids in Chonburi Province, Phuket, and on the island of Samui: searches were conducted at more than 40 addresses, and dozens of Russian citizens were detained. The investigations concerned elite residential complexes advertised as “Russian villages”, which, according to police, were illegally registered to local straw owners in violation of Thai land ownership laws.
At the same time, amid reports that Russians are buying property in Thailand to hide from possible mobilization, from January through August 2026 they bought 1,050 properties there for a total of $123.5 million, or 10.4 billion rubles. The number of transactions rose by 38% year over year, and Russian citizens moved into second place among foreign buyers of Thai real estate.
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