African fighters captured in Ukraine choose Moscow over homecoming

Several African nationals captured while fighting for Russia in Ukraine say they want to return to Russia rather than be repatriated to their countries of origin, highlighting the competing efforts by Moscow and Kyiv to shape influence across Africa.

The prisoners of war, interviewed by POLITICO at a Ukrainian detention facility, rejected Kyiv’s claims that they had been misled into joining the Russian military. They said they had knowingly signed contracts with Russia’s armed forces and hoped to be included in prisoner exchanges that would send them back to Russia.

“I have family in Russia, why should I want to go back to Congo?” said a Democratic Republic of the Congo national using the call sign Avatar. “Ukraine just thinks we will return to war.”

Kyiv has argued that African citizens are being recruited by Moscow as expendable manpower for the war in Ukraine, often through false promises of employment. Ukrainian officials say Russia has recruited nearly 3,000 citizens from 36 African countries since the start of the full-scale invasion.

“[Russians] tell lies about this war — we tell the truth,” Olexander Scherba, Ukraine’s ambassador to South Africa, told POLITICO. “They want the blood of this war to be more African and less Russian. We tell Africans not to allow Russia to use them in a meat grinder.”

Prisoners of war in a Ukrainian detention center line up for a meal in May 2026

However, several African prisoners interviewed disputed the idea that they had been deceived.

“It’s not true that Africans were tricked into the Russian army,” Avatar said. “They tell you about the job when you sign the contract. It’s just a job.”

An Egyptian prisoner using the call sign Cairo said some African recruits had spent years in custody and wanted to return to Russia.

“Some of us are here for two or more years,” Cairo said. “Ukraine tags us as African countries’ citizens, and we think it’s because they don’t want to let us go back to Russia. And we all want to go back.”

The issue has become part of a broader diplomatic contest between Russia and Ukraine over influence in Africa. Moscow has maintained long-standing ties across the continent, supported by Soviet-era relations and a wider diplomatic network, while Kyiv has sought to expand its presence since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.

A standard array of supplies given to new arrivals at detention centers in Ukraine is picture

Ukraine has increased the number of its embassies in Africa from 10 to 18, while Russia currently has 49 diplomatic missions on the continent.

“Then the full-scale invasion happened, and all of a sudden everyone realized that this huge, future-oriented continent largely didn’t understand Ukraine’s story because it did not hear it,” Scherba said. “And that it was, in many cases, a sandbox for Russian propaganda.”

Many African recruits told POLITICO that financial incentives were a major reason for joining Russia’s military. Avatar said the decision was driven by economic opportunity rather than political motives.

“It’s just business,” he said. Russia offers a one-time signing bonus of about $13,000 for African recruits, as well as a monthly salary of at least $2,000.

The recruitment of foreign fighters has become a sensitive issue for several African governments. Earlier this year, Kenyan lawmakers raised concerns over alleged recruitment networks targeting citizens with promises of jobs before sending them to conflict zones.

Ukraine says it is warning African countries about Moscow’s recruitment efforts, while Russia has denied accusations that it is exploiting foreign nationals.

A 55-year-old Ghanaian citizen using the call sign Future said he hoped international prisoners fighting on both sides could eventually be exchanged.

“If Ukraine really wants to be friends with Africa, it should let us go, in exchange for other internationals fighting for Kyiv,” Future said.