Russia is recruiting African men to fight in Ukraine

As Russia's war in Ukraine continues to drag on, the Kremlin has become increasingly desperate, finding creative solutions on getting more manpower to fight in Putin's “military operation”.

Bloomberg reports that the Kremlin is forcing thousands of migrants and students from Africa to fight Putin’s special military operation in Ukraine.

According to Bloomberg, these African men were for the most part forced to enlist in the Russian Armed Forces under the threat of not having their visa renewed and being deported from the country.

The UK Ministry of Defense estimate that, by June 2024, Russia has lost over 500,000 soldiers in Ukraine. Bloomberg highlights that the lack of manpower was starting to be badly felt in the Kremlin.

Reuters informs that, in early 2024, there were roughly some 35,000 students from Africa enrolled in Russian colleges and universities, per information from the Ministry of Education.

Business Insider highlights that press-ganging students and migrants with deportation threats is hardly the only unorthodox method by the Kremlin to get fresh meat to send to the front.

In October 2023, Russia’s prison population hit a historic low of 220,000 from 420,000 inmates before the war. The reason? Convicts were being recruited to fight in the front.

Also in 2023, the Cuban government denounced that there were a network recruiting people from the island to fight as mercenaries in Ukraine. However, no direct connection with the Kremlin was reported.

However, Russia’s connection with Africa isn’t limited to the war in Ukraine. It goes way back and involves a little thing called the Wagner Group.

According to Reuters, at its height the Wagner Group was operating in at least eight African countries, including Mali, Libya, and the Central African Republic.

French newspaper Le Monde writes that while the Wagner Group helped Moscow to make inroads in Africa, the empire that the mercenary company had carved in the continent proved to be too independent for the liking of the Kremlin.

After the Wagner Group revolted and its leader, Evgeny Prigozhin, died under mysterious circumstances, the private military company was rebranded as The Africa Corps. However, other than a name change, Le Monde claims it still provides the same service.

As AP News highlights, Russia’s growing influence in Africa as a reliable security partner against rebels and extremists displaces the traditional presence of France and the United States.

However, as Russian students and migrants forced to fight in the Ukrainian frontline knows very well, sometimes generosity can turn out to be very expensive.

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