African farmers are the latest foreign nationals to be tricked by Moscow into fighting in Ukraine, the Telegraph reported on Monday, citing Ukrainian interrogators.
Much like the Indian nationals who traveled to Russia under the promise of economic opportunity, the African farmers were reportedly promised jobs in a Russian shampoo factory.
Jean Onana, who found himself struggling to support his wife and three children in Cameroon, reportedly told Ukrainian intelligence that he had been promised legitimate work and had flown to Moscow in March for the opportunity - like many in his position.
Upon arriving in Moscow, authorities reportedly detained him and 10 others from Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Ghana. They were informed then that there would be no work in a shampoo factory, rather they would sign a year contract to join the Russian military and fight on the front lines
Onana said he was only given five weeks of training in Rostov and Luhansk, along with other African migrants and some Brazilian men. While at this point he was able to call home, after training, his phone and documents were confiscated, he said.
Malik Diop, a 25-year-old student, was promised a new job as a dishwasher earning $5,700 in Luhansk. After signing up for his new role, he was handed a gun, grenades and a helmet and delivered straight onto the battlefield.
We started to see dead people in the forest. Lots of dead people in different buildings. It really affected me,” he told investigators.
After ditching the weapons and uniform and deserting, he was captured by Ukrainian forces.
Russia bolstering forces with foreign nationals
With nearly one million Russian soldiers wounded or killed, according to estimates by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Moscow has begun looking abroad for new troops after extending the age of military service didn’t make up the numbers needed.
North Korea, an ally of Russia, lent some 10,000 soldiers while an estimated 91 Indian nationals had been duped into joining Moscow - many of whom have since been released following international backlash. While many of the Indian nationals have returned, at least nine were killed and many sustained life-changing injuries like paralysis, according to BBC News.
Beyond using foreign nationals to bolster its personnel, the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime released a report last month claiming that Moscow had began recruiting foreign women, many from Africa, to manufacture Iranian Shahed drones.
The women were reportedly not told of the nature of the work before their arrival nor of the the fact that their workplace would be a military target.