Zimbabwe has reported the deaths of a group of citizens recruited to fight in the war against Ukraine
Fifteen citizens recruited to fight in Russia’s war against Ukraine have been killed in Zimbabwe, while 66 others are still alive, the country’s Information Minister, Jemu Soda, said. The government is working to bring them home.
The country’s Information Minister, Jemu Soda, made this statement to journalists, according to The Washington Post.
According to the minister, Zimbabwean citizens were lured by deceptive offers of high-paying jobs through fraudulent employment agencies that used social media as their primary recruitment channel. Soda explained that those recruited had their documents confiscated and were forced to participate in combat operations.
“They receive minimal training, if any at all, and find themselves in life-threatening situations. When they are wounded, killed, or taken prisoner, the recruiters disappear, leaving families in Zimbabwe without information, support, or the ability to hold anyone accountable,” Soda said.
The minister added that in many cases, the promised compensation was never paid. Zimbabwe is currently working to organize the return of survivors as well as the repatriation of the bodies of those who died. Similar cases have also been reported in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria, where citizens were deceived into traveling to Russia under the guise of employment, only to find themselves on the front lines.
Earlier, the European Parliament released data on the large-scale recruitment of foreign mercenaries into the Russian army for the war against Ukraine.
As a reminder, Russia has intensified a multi-level campaign in African countries, combining educational, cultural, and religious initiatives with covert recruitment of citizens to participate in the war against Ukraine and work at defense enterprises. Currently, over 1,400 Africans have already been involved in such activities.
Latvia’s State Security Service (SSS) has officially confirmed a shift in tactics by Russian intelligence agencies in the country.
