Russia lures Yemeni mercenaries to fight in Ukraine

In today’s newsletter:

• Russia recruits Yemeni mercenaries to fight in Ukraine

• Japan’s giant stimulus plan

• What Trump’s presidency could mean for the US indictment of Adani

Good morning. Russia’s armed forces have recruited hundreds of Yemeni men to fight in Ukraine, brought by a shadowy trafficking operation that highlights the growing links between Moscow and the Houthi rebel group.

Yemeni recruits who travelled to Russia told the FT they were promised high salaried employment and even Russian citizenship. When they arrived with the help of a Houthi-linked company, they were then forcibly inducted into the Russian army and sent to the front lines in Ukraine.

The Yemeni recruitment effort shows how the conflict in Ukraine is increasingly sucking in soldiers from abroad as casualties rise and the Kremlin tries to avoid a full mobilisation. It also underscores how Russia is growing closer to Iran and allied militant groups in the Middle East.

The FT spoke to Yemeni recruits, including one who said he was lured by promises of lucrative employment in fields such as “security” and “engineering”, hoping to earn enough to complete his studies.

A few weeks later, he was holed up with four other recently arrived Yemenis in a forest in Ukraine, dressed in military fatigues with Russian insignia, their faces masked by scarves. Read the full story.

Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:

• Economic data: Singapore reports October inflation data.

• South Korea: The United Nations Environment Programme holds talks in Busan aimed at agreeing on a global treaty to end plastic pollution. (Politico)

Five more top stories

1. The newly formed government of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday approved a $250bn economic stimulus package as households battle rising prices and Japan adjusts to the idea of life with inflation. The scale of the package, and the debate over its necessity, will be a key focus of a draft supplementary budget that will be submitted to parliament later this week. Here’s more on the giant stimulus plan.

2. The COP29 climate talks were pulled back from the brink of collapse after poorer countries reluctantly accepted a finance package of “at least” $300bn a year from wealthy nations. Indian delegation member Chandni Raina slammed the abrupt passage of the agreement as “stage-managed”, while other developing countries and smaller nations also registered their objections.

3. Donald Trump will trigger a “period of chaos” and sharp price rises if he scraps Joe Biden’s manufacturing tax credits and increases tariffs as planned, the White House’s top economic adviser has said. Read the full interview with Lael Brainard, director of the National Economic Council.

• More US news: Joe Biden is staging a final push to deliver more aid to Ukraine, lock in manufacturing subsidies and confirm federal judges as he tries to secure his legacy before Donald Trump starts his second term in January.

4. Funds managed by Goldman Sachs will write off almost $900mn after Swedish battery maker Northvolt filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week. Goldman’s private equity funds have at least $896mn in exposure to Northvolt, making the US bank its second-largest shareholder. They will write that down to zero at the end of the year, according to letters to investors seen by the FT.

5. An Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who had gone missing in the United Arab Emirates has been found dead, announced Israeli authorities yesterday, calling his killing “an abhorrent act of antisemitic terrorism”. Emirati intelligence and security services located the body of Zvi Kogan, an emissary for the ultra-Orthodox Jewish Chabad religious group, three days after he vanished. Here are more details.

News in-depth

The US indictment last week of Gautam Adani over his role in an alleged multibillion-dollar bribery and fraud scheme crosses several jurisdictions and targets the Indian business magnate in ways that could have wide economic and diplomatic implications. The case comes just months before Donald Trump’s return to the White House, and its fate could hang on his presidency.

We’re also reading . . . 

• Chinese economy: Cash-strapped shoppers are hunting for second-hand luxury goods while others seek items that can hold value in times of uncertainty.

• Samsung’s crisis: Chip woes and labour unrest are testing the mettle of Lee Jae-yong, the third-generation corporate heir of the South Korean tech giant.

• Palace intrigue: Alex Rogers reports from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida as Republican allies jostle for favour in the president-elect’s court.

Chart of the day

Starbucks has slashed its use of hedges against coffee price shocks even as the price of beans has soared, raising concerns that it may be unusually exposed to market swings. The buyer of 3 per cent of world’s coffee holds less than $200mn in fixed-price contracts for so-called green — or unroasted — coffee, down from $1bn in 2019.

Take a break from the news

How long is a second? Today’s recommended read looks at the mind-bending new science of measuring time, as physicists grapple with this fundamental question of international political importance.