Zimbabwe said on Wednesday that 15 of its citizens had been killed fighting for Russia in Ukraine, the latest African country to report recruits dying on the front lines.
Information minister Zhemu Soda told a press conference that the 15 had been deceived into enlisting, referring to it as human trafficking. He said one recruitment method used by traffickers targeting Zimbabweans was social media.
An official at Russia’s embassy in Harare declined to comment.
Reports of African men being lured to Russia with promises of jobs and ending up on Ukraine’s front lines have become frequent, triggering anger in countries like Kenya, Ghana and South Africa.
Families want more action to bring the recruits home, but African governments, wary about overtly taking sides, have avoided angering Moscow.
Soda said a further 16 Zimbabweans had returned from fighting in Ukraine and were receiving medical attention.
Kenya has said more than 1,000 Kenyans have been recruited to fight for Russia. On a trip to Russia earlier this month, its foreign minister said he had agreed with Moscow that Kenyans would no longer be eligible for signing up.
Russia’s authorities have denied illegally recruiting African citizens to fight in Ukraine.
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