{"id":1450749,"date":"2026-10-09T09:57:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T06:57:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/?p=1450749"},"modified":"2026-10-09T09:57:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T06:57:23","slug":"african-countries-ask-ukraine-to-return-prisoners-who-fought-for-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/african-countries-ask-ukraine-to-return-prisoners-who-fought-for-russia\/","title":{"rendered":"African countries ask Ukraine to return prisoners who fought for Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Several African countries are asking Ukraine to return their citizens who fought on the side of Russia and were captured.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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This<\/span> is<\/span> reported by<\/span><\/a> Bloomberg.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

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

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

“The circumstances<\/span> of their<\/span> recruitment<\/span> and<\/span> conscription<\/span> are consistent with<\/span> human trafficking<\/span> ,”<\/span> Mudavadi<\/span> said<\/span> .<\/span><\/p>\n

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

What<\/span> is known<\/span> about<\/span> the recruitment<\/span> of foreigners<\/span> into<\/span> the Russian<\/span> army<\/span> ?<\/h3>\n

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

Earlier,<\/span> Zimbabwe<\/span> detained<\/span> several<\/span> suspects<\/span> in<\/span> connection<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> recruitment<\/span> of people.<\/span> Among<\/span> them<\/span> were<\/span> two<\/span> Russian<\/span> citizens<\/span> who<\/span> are awaiting<\/span> trial<\/span> .<\/span><\/p>\n

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

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

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

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

According<\/span> to<\/span> Mudavadi,<\/span> about<\/span> 84<\/span> Kenyans<\/span> have been<\/span> killed<\/span> or<\/span> missing<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> fighting<\/span> .<\/span> Another<\/span> 34<\/span> Kenyans<\/span> are<\/span> in<\/span> hospitals<\/span> in<\/span> Russia,<\/span> and<\/span> 62<\/span> have already<\/span> returned<\/span> to<\/span> their<\/span> homeland.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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It was previously<\/span> reported<\/span> that<\/span> Russia<\/span> is recruiting<\/span> men<\/span> in<\/span> Africa<\/span> to<\/span> participate<\/span> in<\/span> the war<\/span> against<\/span> Ukraine<\/span> under<\/span> the<\/span> guise<\/span> of<\/span><\/a> film castings.<\/span> They<\/span> are offered<\/span> to star<\/span> in<\/span> a new<\/span> film project,<\/span> but<\/span> in reality<\/span> the ads<\/span> are used<\/span> to<\/span> recruit men<\/span> for<\/span> the Russian<\/span> army.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Also follow \u201cPryamim\u201d<\/strong> on Facebook<\/a> , X<\/a> , Telegram<\/a> , and Instagram.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Several African countries are asking Ukraine to return their citizens who fought on the side of Russia and were captured. 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":1450744,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76870,76871,76872,76875],"class_list":["post-1450749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","category-news-2","category-news-feed","category-other-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1450749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1450749"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1450749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1450750,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1450749\/revisions\/1450750"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1450744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1450749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1450749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}