Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has said that more than 1,400 people from 36 African nations are known to be fighting for Russia in its war against Ukraine, urging governments to warn their citizens against joining a conflict where they are “quickly killed”.
Speaking on Friday, Sybiha accused Moscow of enticing Africans into joining the war and signing military contracts that were “equivalent to … a death sentence”.
“Foreign citizens in the Russian army have a sad fate”, Sybiha wrote on X. “Most of them are immediately sent to the so-called ‘meat assaults’, where they are quickly killed.”
“Most mercenaries do not survive more than a month,” he said.
“Russia recruits nationals of African countries using a variety of methods. Some are offered money, while others are duped and do not realise what they are signing up for or are forced to do so under duress. Signing a contract is equivalent to signing a death sentence,” he added.
The minister’s warning came as several African governments acknowledged cases of their citizens joining Russian forces in Ukraine.
South Africa said on Thursday it was investigating how 17 of its nationals became involved with mercenary groups after the men issued distress calls seeking help to return home.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said the South African men aged between 20 and 39 were lured into joining mercenary forces “under the pretext of lucrative employment contracts” and had issued distress calls after becoming trapped in the Donbas area of Ukraine.
A spokesperson for Ramaphosa said it was not yet clear which side the men were fighting on, but Russia has been accused of recruiting men from other countries to fight in the war under the pretext of offering them jobs.
Russia has also been accused of tricking women from South Africa and other parts of Africa into working in Russian drone factories through social media campaigns promising them jobs in fields such as catering and hospitality.
Kenya also reported last month that some of its citizens had been detained in Russian military camps after being unwittingly caught up in the conflict.
In a post on social media on Friday, Kenyan President William Ruto said he had spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about “young Kenyans who have been illegally recruited to fight in the war in Ukraine” and both agreed to “raise awareness of the dangers of such ventures”.
Ruto said he asked his Ukrainian counterpart to “facilitate the release of any Kenyan in Ukrainian custody” and was grateful that Zelenskyy had agreed “to my appeal”.
According to Sybiha, the true number of African recruits by Russian forces could exceed the 1,436 identified so far. He added that most foreign fighters captured by Ukraine were taken during their first combat mission, and that Kyiv would soon release more details about the origins of these recruits who have been taken prisoner.
Ukrainian officials have long accused Russia of bolstering its ranks by enlisting fighters from abroad, often using deceptive tactics.
In August, Zelenskyy said Russian troops fighting near the border town of Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region included mercenaries from China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and several African countries, quoting reports from Ukrainian soldiers on the front line.
Tina Ghimire, wife of Padam Ghimire, speaks to members of the media about her husband, who is in Russia, as families of Nepali nationals who have been recruited by the Russian army to fight against Ukraine pleaded for their safe return, in Kathmandu, Nepal, February 2024 [File: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters]
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed those claims as “irresponsible remarks”, while Pakistan called them “baseless and unfounded”.
According to the Kyiv Independent news outlet, several hundred Chinese nationals have been fighting for Russia.
After Ukrainian troops reported capturing Chinese fighters in April, Zelenskyy said Russia was distributing recruitment videos through Chinese social media networks.
In October, the Kyiv Independent also reported the capture of a 22-year-old Indian national who had joined Russian forces to avoid a seven-year prison sentence for drug charges. Many foreign recruits, according to reports, are promised high salaries, Russian citizenship, or noncombat roles, only to be sent straight to the battlefield.
Ukraine also believes the largest contingent of foreign fighters in Russia’s ranks may come from Cuba, estimating that up to 20,000 Cubans have been recruited as mercenaries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he visits a military training centre of the Western Military District for mobilised reservists in Ryazan region, Russia, in 2022 [File: Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin pool photo via AP]
