African athlete says Russia lured him for work and sent him to war

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Nearly four years after Russia invaded Ukraine, Moscow is turning to African nations to help bolster its front line. African men have told the ABC they were lured to Russia with the promise of a well-paying job before being scammed into serving in its military.

Transcript

00:00This secret location in Ukraine holds Russian prisoners of war, captured on the front line.

00:11The soldiers are resigned to a life of monotony.

00:15But not everyone here is Russian.

00:17The prison is holding dozens of African men.

00:20Many of them say they were scammed into fighting for the Kremlin cause.

00:24I want to go home. I want to see my family.

00:27I didn't know what I was going there.

00:30So you were tricked into fighting?

00:32Yeah, yeah.

00:34This is one of five prisoner of war camps in Ukraine.

00:38The Ukrainian government granted us access because it argues its POWs are being treated humanely.

00:44The men held here are currency in future prisoner swaps.

00:48Rooms are warm but basic. The common area is cold and silent.

00:53Evans Kibitz says he had no intention of fighting.

00:59He was once a promising middle distance runner in Kenya, but it wasn't paying the bills.

01:04This running was not paying me. It was not giving me money.

01:09And also I wanted to support my family.

01:12Evans says he was lured there by a fellow Kenyan working on behalf of Moscow,

01:16who told him he'd be paid for doing what he loved.

01:20And he told you that there was a festival?

01:23Yeah.

01:24Where you could go and compete?

01:25Yeah.

01:26They told me that after the event they would give me some allowance.

01:31Do you remember how much it was?

01:33No, they didn't mention.

01:35So, if you didn't know how much money you were making, why did you want to go to Russia?

01:42For me, it was like they pay everything. I don't have to pay anything. Then I have...

01:51It was like, OK, let me go and visit.

01:54After arriving in St Petersburg, he says he was tricked into signing a military contract

02:00that was entirely in Russian.

02:02I guess some people might be curious as to why you signed a contract and you didn't...

02:09you weren't able to read it.

02:11I trusted this man.

02:14After a week of training, he was sent to the front line.

02:17Bones, rockets. You wait for you are dead.

02:24How were you captured by Ukrainian soldiers?

02:28I surrendered myself.

02:35The Kenyan government believes 200 of its citizens are fighting in Russia.

02:43It's asked Ukraine to release all of the Kenyan citizens in its custody.

02:47Why doesn't the Ukrainian government just release them and send them back to their home country?

02:53The Ukrainian side and Ukraine is very open to any negotiations with any government.

03:00But it's not just Kenyans being drawn in. Ukraine estimates more than 1,400 Africans from 36 countries are currently fighting for Russia.

03:09Atam is from Cameroon, where he worked as a maths teacher.

03:13He made the journey after being offered a job opportunity that he thought would better support his family.

03:19Did you know that you'd end up fighting?

03:21No.

03:22He's now desperate to go home.

03:25My wife, my mother, everybody. I want to see them.

03:29What we discovered in there was something more complicated than I expected.

03:33There really is a mix.

03:35There's people who say they were tricked into fighting for Russia.

03:39But then there's people who say they went voluntarily.

03:41They were effectively mercenaries.

03:43But almost all of them feel that they've made a mistake.

03:46And now they just desperately want to go home.

03:50But for now, these men are resigned to a life inside.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended