Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sibikha said more than 1,400 people from 36 African countries are known to be fighting for Russia in the war against Ukraine, and called on the government to warn their nationals not to take part in a conflict where they “will quickly be killed.”
Sibiha, speaking on Friday, accused the Russian government of forcing Africans to join the war and sign military contracts that were “amount to a death sentence.”
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“Foreigners in the Russian army have a sad fate,” Sibikha wrote to X. “Most of them are immediately sent on so-called ‘meat raids’ and are quickly killed.”
“Most mercenaries only live a month,” he says.
“Russia recruits citizens of African countries in a variety of ways. Some are offered money, others are tricked into signing a contract, either without understanding what they are signing up for, or under duress. Signing a contract is tantamount to signing a death sentence,” he added.
The minister’s warning came after several African governments acknowledged cases in which their nationals had joined Russian forces in Ukraine.
According to available information, at least 1,436 nationals from 36 African countries are currently fighting as part of the Russian invasion force in Ukraine. Although this number represents what has been identified, the actual number may be much higher.
Russia is recruiting African nationals…
— Andrii Sybiha 🇺🇦 (@andrii_sybiha) November 7, 2025
South Africa said on Thursday it was investigating how 17 of its nationals became involved with a mercenary group after the men sent out a distress call asking for help returning home.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said the South African men, aged between 20 and 39, had been lured by mercenary forces “in the name of lucrative employment contracts” and had issued a distress call after being trapped in Ukraine’s Donbas region.
Ramaphosa’s spokesman said it was not yet clear which side the men were fighting on, but Russia has been accused of recruiting men from other countries to join the war in the name of providing jobs.
Russia is also suspected of tricking women from South Africa and other parts of Africa into working at Russian drone factories through social media campaigns promising jobs in fields such as catering and hospitality.
Kenya also reported last month that some of its citizens had been unknowingly drawn into the conflict and were being held in Russian military camps.
Kenyan President William Ruto said in a social media post on Friday that he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy about “young Kenyans illegally recruited to fight in the Ukraine war” and that both sides agreed to “raise awareness about the dangers of such operations.”
Ruto called on the Ukrainian side to “facilitate the release of Kenyans detained in Ukraine” and thanked Zelenskiy for agreeing “to my appeal.”
I had a fruitful phone conversation with President @ZelenskyyUa of Ukraine and discussed various issues of mutual interest between our peoples and states.
We expressed concern about young Kenyans illegally recruited to fight in the war in Ukraine.
— Dr. William Samoy Ruto (@WilliamsRuto) November 6, 2025
Sibiha said the actual number of African recruits in the Russian military could exceed the 1,436 confirmed so far. He added that most of the foreign fighters captured in Ukraine were captured during their first combat mission, and Kiev would soon release details about the origins of the captured recruits.
Ukrainian officials have long accused Russia of recruiting fighters from abroad and often using deceptive tactics to strengthen their military.
President Zelenskyy said in August, citing reports from Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines, that Russian forces fighting near the border town of Bovchansk in Kharkiv region also included mercenaries from China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and African countries.
China’s Foreign Ministry dismissed these claims as “irresponsible statements”, while Pakistan condemned them as “baseless and baseless”.
According to Kiev Independent News Agency, hundreds of Chinese are fighting for Russia.
Following reports in April that Ukrainian forces had captured Chinese fighters, President Zelensky said Russia was distributing recruitment videos through Chinese social media networks.
In October, the Kiev Independent also reported that Russia had detained a 22-year-old Indian national who had joined the Russian army to avoid a seven-year prison sentence on drug charges. According to reports, many foreign recruits are promised high pay, Russian citizenship and non-combat roles, but are sent straight to the battlefield.
Ukraine also believes that the largest contingent of foreign fighters in the Russian military may come from Cuba, estimating that up to 20,000 Cubans have been recruited as mercenaries.
