Botswana has reported the mass recruitment of its citizens in Russia to fight in the war against Ukraine
19 July 01:16
Botswana’s authorities have reported a sharp increase in cases of fraudulent recruitment of Botswana nationals to fight in Russia’s war against Ukraine, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports, citing Bloomberg.
According to the Republic’s Ministry of International Relations, citizens are lured abroad under the pretext of employment and then forced to participate in combat operations.
The ministry noted that the number of victims of such schemes “is growing at an alarming rate,” and also reported that it continues to receive “frantic calls” from compatriots who have already found themselves on the front lines and are complaining about dangerous conditions. In light of this, the ministry urged citizens to carefully verify offers of work abroad.
Botswana is not the first African country to report that its citizens have been fraudulently recruited to fight in the war against Ukraine. Similar accusations have been made by the authorities in South Africa and Kenya. In February, Kenyan intelligence reported that Russia had recruited more than 1,000 Kenyans to participate in the war. Many of them were promised jobs as truck drivers or security guards. Most of them entered Russia on tourist visas via Turkey and the UAE.
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In South Africa, five suspects were also detained on suspicion of recruiting mercenaries for the Russian army. In November 2025, Bloomberg reported that Duduzila Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, was involved in this activity. According to the agency, she convinced 20 men that they would travel to Russia for security guard training courses so they could work for her father’s party in the future.
Foreign nationals were granted the opportunity to sign contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense in November 2022, while stateless persons were granted this opportunity in July 2024. According to The Telegraph, by the end of 2025, Russia had lured approximately 18,000 citizens from 128 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America into the war, and at least 3,300 of them were killed in combat.
The publication noted that many of these recruits die within the first 72 hours after being sent to the front lines due to a lack of proper training and an understanding of where they had ended up. A number of countries, including Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Jordan, and Kenya, have demanded that Moscow stop recruiting and return their citizens home.
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