African countries ask Ukraine to return prisoners who fought for Russia

This is reported by Bloomberg.

Kenya is currently negotiating the return of five of its citizens held captive in Ukraine . Botswana is seeking the return of one of its citizens. Kenyan President William Ruto has already discussed the issue by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Kenyan Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi told parliamentarians in Nairobi that the country’s authorities want to see the detained Kenyans recognized as victims of international human trafficking , not prisoners of war.

According to the minister, the men claim they agreed to go to Russia because of promises of employment. The youngest of them, who is in a Ukrainian prisoner of war camp , is 23 years old.

“The circumstances of their recruitment and conscription are consistent with human trafficking ,” Mudavadi said .

African governments claim that their citizens were lured to Russia with offers of civilian jobs, including as drivers, security guards or cooks. However, upon arrival , the men were allegedly forced to serve in the Russian army.

What is known about the recruitment of foreigners into the Russian army ?

The problem of fraudulent recruitment of citizens abroad has also been highlighted in Zimbabwe. The country’s government said that some recruits were sent to active fronts in the countries they arrived in without prior military training . The official statement did not specify whether Russia and Ukraine were involved .

Earlier, Zimbabwe detained several suspects in connection with the recruitment of people. Among them were two Russian citizens who are awaiting trial .

Botswana has also warned its citizens about the risk of recruitment into the Russian military. On August 21 , the country’s authorities said that eight citizens who were planning to be recruited into the Russian military were stopped at airports in Botswana, South Africa and Ethiopia . The government had warned citizens a month earlier about the risk of being forcibly recruited into the war .

According to a Ukrainian government website, Russia has recruited more than 28,000 foreigners from 135 countries. More than five thousand of them have died. Ukrainian soldiers have taken prisoners of citizens from 51 countries.

Documents seen by Bloomberg show that Ukraine is holding at least 213 foreign military personnel, not including Russian and North Korean nationals . Among them are 37 citizens of African countries.

At the same time, the prospects for the return of these prisoners remain uncertain. Ukraine insists that foreign servicemen who fought on the side of the Russian Federation can only be returned home as part of an exchange for Ukrainians held by Russia.

According to Mudavadi, about 84 Kenyans have been killed or missing in the fighting . Another 34 Kenyans are in hospitals in Russia, and 62 have already returned to their homeland.