Ukrainian Foreign Minister: 1436 Africans are fighting alongside Russian forces
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said 1,436 people from 36 African countries are fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.
On Friday, Sybiha posted on X, saying that the total number of African recruits may be higher than the figure he provided, noting that “most of the foreign mercenaries held by Ukraine were captured during their first combat mission”.
He stressed that his country “will soon provide more detailed information about the countries and regions from which Russia has recruited these fighters”.
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister accused Russia of “enticing Africans to sign contracts equivalent to a death sentence,” calling on African governments to “warn their citizens” of the danger of this.
On this regard, Kenyan President William Ruto announced on Friday that he had asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a phone conversation between them to facilitate the release of any Kenyan detained in Ukraine.
Prior to that, the Kenyan government announced at the end of last October an agreement between it and Russia to release Kenyans held in camps in the country after finding themselves involved in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict without their knowledge.
From its part, the South African government announced Thursday that President Cyril Ramaphosa had ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the recruitment of 17 citizens who joined mercenary forces in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
A statement from the South African government said the South African government had received distress calls from the youths, aged between 20 and 39 who were trapped in the war-torn Donbas region of Ukraine.
