African nations are appealing to Ukraine for the return of their detained citizens
African countries are urging Ukraine to repatriate citizens who were detained while fighting on Russia’s side.
This was reported by Bloomberg.
Specifically, Kenyan Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi stated that the government is negotiating the return of five detainees and that President William Ruto has spoken by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyі regarding the matter.
Earlier, Botswana’s Foreign Ministry informed the agency that it is seeking the return of one of its citizens from a Ukrainian prisoner-of-war camp.
African nations have stated that some of their citizens were lured to Russia under false pretenses and subsequently forced into military service. According to the governments, the individuals were promised civilian jobs—such as roles as drivers, security guards, or cooks.
Against this backdrop, Kenya wants these men recognized as “victims of international human trafficking” rather than prisoners of war. They “report having been recruited under false promises of employment,” Mudavadi added.
In a statement released on Thursday, the government of Zimbabwe expressed concern regarding deceptive cross-border recruitment practices.
“Unfortunately, some recruits were sent to active front lines in their host countries without any prior military training,” the statement read, though it did not specifically mention either Russia or Ukraine. In July 2026, six Zimbabwean nationals were arrested in South Africa; they admitted to planning to use the country as a transit point аn route to Russia to join its armed forces. Four of them intended to fight in exchange for signing bonuses of $25,000 and a monthly salary of $2,500, while the other two helped organize the trip. They had been in contact with a Russian recruiter.
Russia has recruited over 28,000 foreign nationals from 135 countries to fight on its side, with more than 5,000 of them killed. According to government data, Ukrainian forces have captured fighters from 51 countries.
Documents reviewed by Bloomberg indicate that Ukraine is holding at least 213 foreigners—excluding Russians and North Koreans—as prisoners of war. Of these, 37 are Africans.
At the same time, the publication notes that the chances of their repatriation are slim, as Ukraine maintains that, as prisoners of war, they must be exchanged for Ukrainians held by Russia.