Serious allegations of deception, human trafficking and forced military recruitment have emerged following claims by several African nationals that they were lured to Russia under false pretences and compelled to fight in the ongoing war with Ukraine.
Victims from Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and other African countries allege they were promised well-paid civilian jobs in Russia but were instead detained, subjected to military training and deployed to the frontline against their will.
One of the alleged victims, 36-year-old Nigerian mechanic, Bankole Manchi, recounted his experience in a widely circulated video. Manchi said he left Lagos after being offered what appeared to be a legitimate overseas employment opportunity with a promised monthly salary of about ₦500,000.
According to him, a middleman facilitated his travel arrangements and supplied documents that required minimal personal information. Convinced the offer was genuine, he travelled via Addis Ababa to Moscow, with his family fully informed of his journey.
Manchi claimed that upon arrival in Russia, he was handed over to unidentified individuals who initially reassured him. Rather than being taken to a workplace, he said he was transported to a military-style camp where he encountered recruits from Nigeria, Ghana, France, Brazil and China.
He alleged that many of the recruits struggled to communicate due to language barriers and relied heavily on translation applications. Once inside the facility, they were reportedly told there was “no way out.”
Manchi further alleged that training began with basic drills before advancing to weapons handling, grenade exercises and night operations. He said several recruits sustained injuries during training but were nevertheless forced to continue.
He claimed they were later moved at night to what they subsequently realised was Ukrainian territory. Shortly after arriving at the frontline, he said heavy gunfire erupted and he was shot in the leg. He also alleged severe food shortages, stating that recruits survived mainly on water for several days before he received medical attention.
Manchi described African recruits as being treated as “disposable fighters” in a conflict they never agreed to join.
Similar accounts have been reported by other Africans. In a video shared by journalist Phillip Obaji Jr., a Ugandan national alleged that he and others were promised jobs in supermarkets, airports and private security companies in Russia. Instead, he claimed they were forcibly enlisted into the Russian military, kept under armed guard and housed in underground shelters with poor living conditions and inadequate food.
The Ugandan said he eventually escaped and surrendered to Ukrainian forces, who briefly detained him before verifying his identity and ensuring his safety.
Additional claims were made by researcher Sholla Ard, who alleged that a recruitment network was actively targeting young Africans. According to him, a Russian company, ST3 Metal LLC, allegedly issued short-term employment letters—some valid for as little as two weeks—to assist recruits in obtaining visas.
Ard further alleged that local agents in Kenya, Uganda and other countries facilitated travel through transit points such as Juba, Nairobi and Turkey, after which recruits were pressured into military service upon arrival in Russia. He said he had gathered documents, visas and testimonies indicating that some Africans were missing or may have been killed in combat.
He warned that the operation could be linked to Wagner-associated networks, describing it as a large-scale trafficking scheme that placed unsuspecting Africans in an active war zone under false pretences.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the Russian government nor ST3 Metal LLC has issued an official response to the allegations.
Human rights organisations have called for urgent investigations by African governments, international bodies and the United Nations, urging coordinated action to protect vulnerable citizens from exploitation in foreign conflicts.
