African countries demand the return of their citizens who fought for Russia and were captured by Ukraine

A number of African states have appealed to Ukraine to return their citizens who participated in hostilities on the side of the Russian army and ended up in Ukrainian captivity. At the same time, Kyiv insists that such persons have the status of prisoners of war and can be released as part of an exchange.

African states seek the return of their citizens

In particular, the Kenyan government is negotiating the repatriation of five citizens who fought as part of the Russian troops.

Kenyan Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi said that President William Ruto personally raised this issue during a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Kenyan side insists on recognizing its citizens as victims of international human trafficking, not prisoners of war. According to the minister, 62 Kenyan citizens who participated in the war have already returned to their homeland.

A similar request for the return of one citizen was received from Botswana. The Zimbabwean government has also expressed concern about cases of its citizens being recruited to fight in the war against Ukraine.

How Russia is recruiting foreigners for war

According to representatives of African states, Russian recruiters are using fraudulent schemes to recruit foreigners into the army.

Citizens are offered jobs as drivers, security guards, cooks and other civilian specialists. However, upon arrival in Russia, they are reportedly forced to sign military contracts and sent to the front.

The Zimbabwean government has reported that some of the recruited citizens were sent directly to the combat zone without prior military training.

Why Ukraine does not agree to direct return

The Ukrainian side adheres to the position that foreigners captured while participating in combat operations as part of Russian troops are considered prisoners of war.

Therefore, Kyiv insists on their return through the mechanism of exchange for Ukrainian servicemen held by Russia.

At the same time, international humanitarian law provides for the individual determination of the legal status of detainees. The mere fact of foreign citizenship or participation in the war on the side of another state does not automatically deprive a person of the status of a prisoner of war.

How many foreigners are fighting on the side of Russia

According to documents obtained by Bloomberg, Ukraine is holding at least 213 foreign citizens who fought on the side of Russia, excluding military personnel from North Korea. Among them, 37 people are from African countries.

Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported that Russia had recruited at least 2,982 citizens from 37 African countries. According to available data, about 500 of them died.

In addition, according to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Russia plans to involve about 20 thousand foreigners in the war during 2026.

Among the priority regions for recruitment are Central Asia, as well as Bangladesh, Chad, Sudan, Burundi and other African states.

Thus, the issue of the return of recruited foreigners is increasingly becoming a subject of diplomatic negotiations. At the same time, Ukraine links the possibility of their release with the return of its own defenders from Russian captivity.