Kremlin recruits Africans for Ukraine war under false job ads – The Telegraph

The outlet described the case of 36-year-old Jean Onana from Cameroon, who traveled to Russia in March after being promised a well-paid job at a shampoo manufacturing plant. Back home, he was unemployed, with a wife and three children, so he sold everything he could to buy a ticket to Moscow.

But instead of getting a job, he was immediately detained along with a group of foreigners from Bangladesh, Ghana, and Zimbabwe. They were told: there would be no factory - instead, they had to sign a contract with the Russian army and head to the front in Ukraine.

Onana, like hundreds (perhaps thousands) of Africans, became a victim of recruitment - either through deceit or coercion. Many are lured with promises of salaries of $1,500 or more, while back home they earn just £60–70 a month.

In Russia, they face just five weeks of training and death. That’s what happened to Onana: during a combat mission, his bunker was shelled, and everyone was killed - only he survived.

Another case is 25-year-old Malik Diop from Senegal. He was also promised a kitchen job for $5,700 in Ukraine's Luhansk, but within a week was handed a rifle and sent to the front near Toretsk. After seeing corpses in the forest and mutilated bodies in homes, he became terrified, fled, and surrendered to Ukrainian forces.

Meanwhile, in Cameroon, social media is filled with posts about missing men who left for Russia and have since disappeared. One account has already recorded at least 67 Cameroonians killed.

There are also reports that African women are being deceitfully recruited to work in drone production. Promised training and salaries, they are placed at a company in the Alabuga special economic zone (Yelabuga, east of Moscow).

However, the women were not informed that they would be working at a military facility.

Mercenaries in war against Ukraine

Russia has involved mercenaries from at least 48 countries in its war against Ukraine.

Chinese mercenaries recruited by Russia are also fighting on the front line.

Recently, Russian media identified 51 Chinese soldiers who signed contracts with the occupying army. They traveled to Moscow specifically for this purpose.