A Kenyan tourist, named Evans, was reportedly captured by Ukrainian soldiers while serving in the Russian army near the town of Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast, according to a report from the 57th Motorized Infantry Brigade on Sept. 17.
Evans claimed that he had never served in the military before and ended up in the ranks of the invaders by accident after signing documents in Russian given to him by a sports agent during a tourist trip to Saint Petersburg.
“He asked if I wanted to stay here, and I said ‘yes.’ But the problem was that my visa had expired. He said he could help and told me he had a job for me. I asked what kind of job, but he didn’t tell me. That evening, he came with some papers written in Russian and showed me where to sign. I didn’t know it was a military service contract,” Evans shared in a YouTube interview from the 57th Infantry Brigade.
He credits Ukrainian soldiers for “saving his life” after being thrust onto the battlefield with just a week of training and some instruction on how to use a rifle. Evans confessed that he decided to escape as soon as he found himself in the combat zone.
He approached the positions of Ukrainian soldiers with his hands raised and surrendered.
“They threw me into the forest, and that’s when I ran away. I took off all their military gear and left. I wandered through the forest for two days, looking for Ukrainian soldiers to save my life,” he recounted.
Evans soon discovered he had been duped into joining the military. After signing what he believed were “work papers,” he was whisked away to a military camp. His passport and phone were seized by the agent, and a carload of men promptly arrived to haul him off to a training camp.
When Evans questioned why he was there, he was informed that he had signed a military contract with the Russian army.
He revealed that the training lasted just a week and that he was hardly taught anything. He was not alone; Russians, Belarusians, Tajiks, and other Africans were also present.
Evans shared that upon reaching the Ukrainian side, he was provided with food and water. He expressed his desire never to return to Russia.
While Evans was deceived into enlisting and managed to flee, his tale is far from unique. Known as the “Black Wagners,” hundreds of African men have been enlisted by the Russian army to fight on the front lines against Ukraine.
Enticed by promises of hefty salaries, employment, or even Russian passports, some have willingly chosen to join Russian President Vladimir Putin’s army. However, numerous individuals claim they have been manipulated and forcibly recruited.
Many of the Africans enlisted by Russia are dispatched to battle without adequate training. Some have lost their lives, while others have been captured and are stranded on the front line between Russia and Ukraine, pleading with their home countries to bring them back.
In October 2024, a shocking report revealed that African women were being duped into working in Russian drone factories, unknowingly aiding in the construction of weapons used to bomb Ukraine.
Social media ads lured these young African women with promises of free plane tickets, money, and an exciting adventure in Europe. All they had to do was complete a computer game and pass a 100-word Russian vocabulary test.
However, instead of participating in work-study programs in fields like hospitality and catering as promised, some of them discovered upon arrival in Russia’s Tatarstan region that they would be given a factory job producing weapons of war. They found themselves assembling thousands of Iranian-designed attack drones destined for Ukraine.
In interviews with The Associated Press, some of the women voiced complaints about long hours under constant surveillance, unfulfilled promises regarding wages and areas of study, and exposure to harsh chemicals that left their skin pockmarked and itching.
To address a critical labor shortage during wartime, the Kremlin has been recruiting women aged 18-22 from countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria, as well as the South Asian nation of Sri Lanka. This recruitment drive is now expanding to other parts of Asia and Latin America.
