More than 1700 Africans fighting for Russia: Ukrainian foreign minister reveals scale
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha (photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
More than 1700 citizens from African countries are taking part in the war against Ukraine in the ranks of the Russian army, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said during a joint press conference with Ghana Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa in Kyiv.
Russia recruits citizens of Africa
According to the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Russia is actively attracting residents of Africa to participate in the war using various recruitment schemes.
"According to our data, as of today, more than 1780 citizens from the African continent are fighting in the Russian army. That is, we are talking about mercenaries," Sybiha said.
He noted that citizens of at least 36 African states are taking part in combat operations on the side of Russia.
Some mercenaries killed or captured
The minister reported that a significant number of such mercenaries have already died on the front. Some of them were also taken prisoner by the Ukrainian military.
In Sybiha's opinion, the use of foreign citizens in war is a serious challenge and indicates attempts by the Kremlin to expand the circle of participants in the conflict.
Ukraine cooperates with African countries
The head of the Foreign Ministry emphasized that Russia often resorts to fraudulent schemes to draw people into war.
"Russia fraudulently drags these citizens into war. It is very important to counter this — to expose schemes and not allow our citizens to be drawn into foreign war," he stressed.
According to Sybiha, Kyiv has already discussed the problem with representatives of African countries. Some states decided to strengthen responsibility for mercenarism and also agreed with Ukraine on joint information campaigns aimed at preventing recruitment.
He noted that Ukraine plans to continue coordinating actions with African partners to counter the involvement of their citizens in the war on the side of Russia and stop recruitment schemes.
Russia recruits foreigners
Earlier, the government of India reported at least 200 cases of recruitment of its citizens by Russian recruiters to participate in the war against Ukraine. According to official information, at least 26 Indians have died, and seven more are considered missing.
At the same time Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine called on countries of Africa to strengthen measures to counter Russian recruitment schemes that involve youth from different states of the continent in the war.
More details about how citizens of African countries end up on the front line, fall into captivity, and what they say about Russians — in material by RBC-Ukraine.
