African Nations Seek Return of Citizens Captured Fighting for Russia in Ukraine

African countries are pressing Ukraine to return citizens captured while fighting for Russia, saying some were lured abroad with promises of civilian jobs and then forced into military service. Kenya is negotiating the return of five nationals held in Ukrainian prisoner-of-war (POW) camps, Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi told lawmakers in Nairobi, according to Bloomberg on Thursday. President William Ruto has contacted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about their release.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Botswana’s foreign ministry also told Bloomberg it is seeking the return of one citizen held in a Ukrainian camp. Kenya wants the captured men recognized as victims of international human trafficking rather than prisoners of war, Mudavadi said. The youngest Kenyan held in Ukraine is 23. The men say they were recruited through false promises of employment, he told lawmakers, arguing that the circumstances of their recruitment and enlistment bear the hallmarks of trafficking. The appeals come amid longstanding reports from captured fighters who allege that Russia used deception to lure them into military service in Ukraine. Kenya reports dozens dead or missing About 84 Kenyans have died or are missing, while another 34 are receiving treatment in Russia, according to Mudavadi’s report to parliament. He said 62 Kenyan citizens who had participated in the war have been repatriated. Zimbabwe’s government separately expressed concern Thursday about deceptive cross-border recruitment, saying some recruits were sent to the front lines without prior military training. Its statement did not name Russia or Ukraine. Other Topics of Interest Ukraine Strikes Russian Missile Fuel Plant, Oil Depot, Yandex Data Center as Moscow Claims 505 Drones Downed The targeted facility in Russia’s Tver region manufactures Decilin-M, a specialized rocket fuel component used in Kh-55 and Kh-101 cruise missiles, as well as additives for diesel fuel and aviation kerosene. Ukraine holds at least 213 foreign prisoners of war, excluding Russians and North Koreans, including 37 Africans, according to Bloomberg, citing Ukrainian documents it obtained. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said in February that more than 1,700 African nationals had been identified as having fought for Russia, according to Reuters, up from the 1,400 reported in November 2025. Promised work, sent to war Human rights organizations have documented similar accounts from foreign recruits. Amnesty International reported in September that Russia had used deception, coercion and exploitation to recruit foreign nationals, with many cases amounting to human trafficking. “Once victims sign the paperwork, often in a language they do not understand, military commanders restrict their movements, deploy them to the front lines with minimal preparation, and threaten those who seek a way out,” Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary general, was quoted as saying. An April report by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and partner organizations also documented recruitment networks targeting vulnerable foreign nationals, including migrants, students and people in precarious employment. FIDH President Alexis Deswaef called it “neither a marginal nor a spontaneous phenomenon” but added that some were aware of the offers’ military nature. “Many of these men knew in some capacity what they were signing up for. But some were also deceived or coerced,” he was quoted as saying. What foreign POWs told Kyiv Post Kyiv Post has also interviewed foreign nationals captured after joining Russia’s military. In September 2025, Kyiv Post gained exclusive access to one of Ukraine’s largest POW camps and spoke with two foreign fighters, one from Ghana and another from Egypt. Joshua, from Ghana, said he was studying in Moscow and struggling financially when he signed a contract with Russia’s defense ministry. Mohammed Salah, from Egypt, said visa problems had pushed him to join the Russian army in exchange for citizenship. A similar pattern emerged in a 2024 Kyiv Post interview with a Somali national identified as Bashiir.Bashiir said he had traveled to Russia looking for work after earning about $100 a month in Somalia. He told Kyiv Post he saw advertisements for the Russian armed forces and believed he would be trained to work as a security guard inside Russia.“No shooting, no killing, no other things,” he said.Bashiir said he did not realize he had been taken across the border into Ukraine until he was already there. Ukrainian authorities told Kyiv Post at the time that his account resembled explanations frequently given by captured Russian personnel, who often claim they were drivers, cooks, rear-guard troops or ammunition carriers rather than combatants.Petro Yatsenko, a representative of Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, told Kyiv Post that captured soldiers routinely say they did not participate in fighting.The recruitment campaign has already prompted governments in Africa and elsewhere to intervene on behalf of their citizens.South Africa has repatriated citizens recruited into Russia’s military, while Kenya has sought assurances from Moscow that its nationals would no longer be recruited. Ghana has also pressed Russia over the recruitment and deaths of its citizens.Russia’s recruitment reaches dozens of countriesNearly 29,000 foreign nationals have signed contracts with Russia’s armed forces since 2022, according to Ukraine’s “I Want to Live” project, which helps Russian troops surrender.The project said in September that one in 10 prisoners captured from Russian forces was a citizen of another country, with nationals of 55 countries held in Ukraine.It also said Ukrainian forces had captured more foreign nationals in the first nine months of 2026 than during all of 2025.According to the project, diplomatic pressure helped prompt Russia to suspend recruitment of citizens from 39 countries, including Kenya, China, India, Egypt and Pakistan. Moscow subsequently shifted its recruitment focus toward South America, Central Asia and Africa, it said.