"Not prisoners of war, but victims of deception": African countries demand that Ukraine return their citizens home
African countries are seeking to have Ukraine recognize citizens who fought on Russia's side as victims of human trafficking rather than prisoners of war.
This was reported by Bloomberg.
The government of Kenya is negotiating the return of its citizens. The country's foreign minister, Musalia Mudavadi, said that they "report being recruited under false pretenses of employment." Zimbabwe and Botswana have also joined this appeal.
According to Bloomberg, there are at least 213 foreigners in Ukrainian prisoner-of-war camps, including 37 citizens of African countries.
Mudavadi said that Kenya is negotiating the return of five citizens aged 23 and older. According to him, the country's president, William Ruto, has already discussed the matter with Volodymyr Zelensky. Earlier, Botswana's Foreign Ministry announced its intention to bring one of its citizens home.
Representatives of African states claim that some of their citizens ended up in Russia through deception, after which they were forced into military service. According to officials, the men were promised civilian jobs, including as drivers, security guards, and cooks.
Mudavadi emphasized that Kenya is seeking recognition of these men as "victims of international human trafficking" rather than prisoners of war. According to his data, about 84 Kenyan citizens have been killed or gone missing during the war in Ukraine, and another 34 are in Russia receiving treatment for wounds. In total, according to the minister, 62 Kenyans who took part in the fighting have already returned home.
Ukraine claims that Russia has recruited more than 28,000 foreigners from 135 countries to take part in the fighting, and that more than 5,000 of them have been killed. According to Ukrainian data, citizens of 51 countries are being held captive.
Russia has not publicly acknowledged the large-scale recruitment of foreign citizens, stating that it has sufficient human resources to wage the war.
The prospects for the Africans' return remain uncertain: Ukraine considers them prisoners of war subject to exchange for Ukrainian citizens held by Russia.
