An increasing number of Africans are ending up on the front lines of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Across the continent, a number of operating companies have been created to recruit men. These companies often present themselves as travel agencies or employment firms and place advertisements on WhatsApp or Telegram.
This was reported in an article by The New York Times.
It is unknown how many men have been falsely recruited from Africa, although authorities in at least nine countries have reported such cases. In Kenya, the National Intelligence Service discovered that around 1,000 Kenyans had travelled to Russia and ended up in Ukraine. Only 30 of them returned alive. In an effort to limit the number of men falling into the trap, the government stated that it had strengthened screening procedures for young men leaving the country on international flights.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov acknowledged in March that foreigners were taking part in what Moscow calls its special military operation in Ukraine, but stated that the government does not hire or recruit people to fight against their will. “Volunteers go there in full accordance with Russian legislation,” he said at a press conference in Moscow.
Ukraine’s ambassador to South Africa, Aleksandr Shcherba, accused Russia of exploiting young Africans searching for work. “I am simply shocked by how deceitful, inhumane, and imperialistic people can be toward Africans who simply need money,” he said.
Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Botswana, and Mali have reported cases of men being falsely recruited into the Russian army. In February, Kenyan prosecutors charged a man with recruiting 22 Kenyans to Russia. That same month, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa held a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin regarding the recruitment of South Africans. A week later, 17 South Africans returned home from the front line. Prosecutors are investigating the involvement of a South African politician in misleading the men.
As LF previously reported, the Kremlin is using the Russian Orthodox Church as an instrument of influence in Africa and is using it to recruit local residents for participation in the war against Ukraine.
Earlier we wrote that the African Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church is luring Kenyans into the war in Ukraine. Young Kenyan citizens are offered opportunities to travel to Russia for work or study, while the church undertakes to sponsor the trip.
It is known that the Russian Orthodox Church considers Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda to be key countries for developing its mission in Africa. This was stated by Metropolitan Konstantin of Cairo and North Africa, Ostrovskii.
Earlier we wrote about how Russia is “reformatting” Africa and the Global South.
