Russia Begins Recruiting Africans for War Against Ukraine With Help of Russian Orthodox Church

Russia is expanding its presence in Africa through cultural and religious instruments, including the Russian Orthodox Church.

Bloomberg reported on this.

According to the news agency, the Russian Orthodox Church has opened parishes in more than 30 African countries.

Moscow is also developing language and cultural centers, as well as educational programs.

Analysts say Russia’s activities come amid a decline in U.S. influence in parts of Africa.

Bloomberg reports that these networks have also been used to recruit foreign nationals into the Russian military.

Some individuals were offered civilian jobs, such as bodyguards or drivers.

However, after arriving in Russia, they were allegedly pressured to sign military contracts, according to the media.

Bloomberg notes that hundreds of foreign nationals from African countries have died in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

There have also been reported cases of online recruitment via the Discord platform, including outreach through the Arma 3 gaming community.

“Ukrainian intelligence and OSINT analysts continue to document the growing scale of such practices,” Bloomberg writes.

Militarnyi previously reported a case in which two South African nationals were recruited for the war through the Arma 3 computer game.