Fighters from the 57th separate motorized infantry brigade named after Kostya Hordienko captured a Kenyan citizen named Evans. He says he was tricked into signing a contract with the Russian army.
He told his story in an interview published by the brigade.
According to him, he came to Russia as a tourist and spent two weeks there. The day before his departure, he was offered the opportunity to stay in the country and get a job in the Russian Federation.
Evans agreed and signed the documents, which were written in Russian, not knowing that he was signing a contract to join the army.
The Kenyan was taken away from his phone and passport and taken to a military camp. He only spent a week training there. He was accompanied by not only Russians, but also citizens of Belarus, Tajikistan, and African countries.
The man also said that he did not understand Russian, so orders were given to him simply by grabbing his clothes with the words "Go!"
"They threw me into the forest. Thatʼs when I ran away from there, I didnʼt go to fight. I took off all their military equipment and left. I went out to the Ukrainian military two nights after I ran away," Evans said.
The Kenyan said he decided to join the Ukrainian military because if he returned to the Russians, he would be killed. The man was threatened with death even when he said he did not want to fight. According to Evans, when he fell into the hands of Ukrainian soldiers, he was fed and given water.
When asked about the exchange, Evans replied that he was ready for it, but only so that he would not be returned to Russia.
- Russia is actively recruiting citizens of other countries for the war. In particular, it is known about the recruitment of citizens of Nepal, India, Syria, Serbia and Somalia. The Russian Federation has also recruited illegal migrants from the Finnish border who were trying to enter the EU through Russia.
- The Russians are also luring and recruiting women from Africa to the Russian Federation, forcing them to assemble drones for the war against Ukraine. Due to the large number of such cases, the South African Ministry of Womenʼs Affairs has begun to warn women against working in Russia.
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