Ukrainian Forces Capture Kenyan Citizen Forcibly Mobilized by Russian Army

In the Kharkiv region, soldiers of the 57th Motorized Brigade captured a Kenyan track and field athlete who had been tricked into signing a contract to serve in the Russian army.

The press service of the 57th Motorized Brigade released an interview with the captured man.

The Kenyan, named Evans, stated that he had never served in the military before and ended up in the ranks of the invaders by accident – after signing documents in Russian, handed to him by a sports agent during a tourist trip to Saint Petersburg.

“He asked if I wanted to stay here, and I said ‘yes.’ But the problem was that my visa had expired. He said he could help and told me he had a job for me. I asked what kind of job, but he didn’t tell me. That evening, he came with some papers written in Russian and showed me where to sign. I didn’t know it was a military service contract,” he recalled.

Under the pretense of employment, Evans signed a contract with the Russian army, after which the agent took his passport and phone. That same day, other men came for him and put him in a car, which, after a seven-hour drive, brought him to a military camp.

Evans said that once he realized he had been recruited into the Russian army, he tried to refuse, but was told he had no other choice.

According to him, the military training lasted only a week and was limited to basic instruction on how to use an assault rifle. Most of the contract soldiers in the unit with the Kenyan were Russians, though there were also a few Belarusians and Tajiks.

Evans admitted that he decided to escape as soon as he found himself in the combat zone. He approached the positions of Ukrainian soldiers with his hands raised and surrendered.

“They threw me into the forest, and that’s when I ran away. I took off all their military gear and left. I wandered through the forest for two days, looking for Ukrainian soldiers to save my life,” he said.

Evans is far from the first African who has been lured by the Russians – either through deception or promises of high salaries – into joining the army to fight against Ukraine. Previously, Ukrainian soldiers have captured mercenaries from African countries such as Togo, as well as citizens of Senegal and Sierra Leone.

The Russian leadership understands that maintaining the current pace of combat operations is extremely difficult and, therefore, views Africa as a resource for mobilizing local populations to fight against Ukraine.

Moreover, the use of African mercenaries is advantageous: in the war in Ukraine, they are effectively stripped of any rights. An additional challenge is the language barrier – since they do not speak Russian, it is difficult for them to communicate with other soldiers or defend their own interests.