From job offers to war zones: how Russia is recruiting and sacrificing young Africans in Ukraine

Russia’s war in Ukraine has taken on a disturbing new dimension, as media reports confirm that hundreds of young African men are being lured, coerced, or tricked into fighting on the front lines for the Kremlin.
Marketed with promises of stable employment, education, or fast-track Russian citizenship, many are instead funneled into combat roles with little training, no language support, and virtually no way out, according to sweeping investigations by France 24, The Telegraph and United24 Media. Some, like Jean Onana from Cameroon believed they were heading to Russia for shampoo factory work. Instead, they were detained on arrival and signed into year-long military contracts. Onana survived six days buried in rubble before being captured by Ukrainian forces. Others, like Senegal’s Malik Diop, were abruptly reassigned from dishwashing jobs to the battlefield.
For many, the route to war begins with expired visas or legal limbo — vulnerabilities recruiters exploit. Students like Koulékpato Dosseh, who dreamt of becoming a doctor in Russia, now lie wounded in Ukrainian detention, abandoned by both Moscow and their home governments. Russia’s “Africa Corps,” a new paramilitary venture modeled on the Wagner Group, masks a dual strategy: expand influence in Africa while creating a reserve pool of foreign fighters. According to Ukrainian officials, captured African POWs are rarely claimed back by Russia — and even less by their home countries. As casualties mount, these foreign recruits — nicknamed as the “Black Wagners” — are becoming invisible statistics in Putin’s war machine.