By a Correspondent
A Zimbabwean national has been identified among three foreign fighters killed while serving in the Russian army in Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian government-linked information platform documenting the recruitment of foreigners into Russia’s military.
The platform, Stop Russian Recruiters, reported on Thursday that Ukraine’s 66th Mechanised Brigade had recovered and published passports and Russian military identification documents belonging to the three men killed in the Lyman area of Donetsk region.
The three were identified as one Zimbabwean and two Colombians, all of whom were assigned to Russia’s 423rd Regiment, Military Unit 91701.
Documents released by the Ukrainian side included a copy of his foreign passport and a temporary Russian military identification document. The military document lists his nationality as “African” and his civilian occupation as a welder.
The identities of the two Colombians were given as Yhan Carlos, born on 31 May 2000, and Silvestre, born on 4 July 1987, although their surnames were also withheld in the published material.
National Interest News has withheld details of the alleged Zimbabwean that were released by Stop Russian Recruiters.
The Ukrainian brigade said the men were killed while fighting for Russian forces in the Lyman sector, one of the active areas of the war in eastern Ukraine.
The development adds to growing evidence of Zimbabweans and other Africans being drawn into Russia’s war effort, either knowingly or after allegedly being recruited under false pretences.
Stop Russian Recruiters said the proportion of foreign nationals serving in Russian units operating in its sector had increased significantly, reaching about 30% in newly deployed units, according to the 66th Brigade.
The platform said most of the foreign recruits were from African and Latin American countries and alleged that many had been brought into the Russian military through deceptive recruitment schemes.
According to the Ukrainian account, some recruits are initially offered civilian employment, attractive salaries or signing bonuses before being placed under military contracts and deployed to frontline areas.
The reports mirror concerns previously raised over the recruitment of Africans and other foreign nationals by Russia amid the continuing war with Ukraine.
In March, Zimbabwean authorities said 15 Zimbabweans had been killed after being recruited to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war, while 66 others were reported to still be alive.
Stop Russian Recruiters is an information resource operated in connection with Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War and the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
