Russian Army: UN speaks of 'human trafficking' as recruitment expands in Africa

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine submitted a report to the United Nations General Assembly on October 26, 2026, which classifies the enlistment of foreigners into the Russian armed forces as human trafficking. People from 29 countries were recruited through deception or coercion, the commission concludes, based on 245 testimonies, according to RFI and the Ukrainian media outlet Hromadske.

The modus operandi is always the same. False job offers for drivers, mechanics, or security guards, circulated on social media, promise a good salary, housing, and sometimes Russian citizenship. Once on site, the men sign a military contract written in Russian, a language many do not understand; passports and phones are often confiscated, and those who refuse to sign are threatened.

Twenty minutes of training, then the front line

The commission describes training ranging from twenty minutes to a few days before being sent to the front, assignments to assault missions, beatings and death threats from Russian commanders, and the use of drones to prevent retreats. Out of a group of thirty recruits who had been given a written guarantee that they would not be sent to Ukraine, seventeen died in combat, five are missing, and one returned wounded.

Burundi, Zimbabwe, Botswana

The campaign is intensifying on the continent. According to Ukrainian intelligence findings consulted by Bloomberg and cited by Hromadske, 45,959 foreigners from 151 countries have signed contracts with the Russian army, including 5,451 from African countries. Still according to this source, Burundi went from 30 recruits for the entire year of 2025 to 699 men between January and September 2026, and Zimbabwe from 65 to 530 over the same period. Increases have been noted in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Cameroon, and Sierra Leone, and recruitment has reportedly resumed in Madagascar for the first time since the start of the full-scale invasion.

Several states are reacting. The Botswana Minister of Foreign Affairs stated on October 26, 2026, that fifteen of its recruited nationals were missing. In Kenya, political officials claim that at least a thousand Kenyans have been enlisted, and both Nairobi and Pretoria are seeking to prevent their citizens from leaving. In Zimbabwe, two Russians suspected of recruitment have been arrested.

The commission highlights a decisive legal point: as victims of trafficking, these men are not mercenaries and are entitled to the protection granted to prisoners of war if they are captured. It calls on Russia to end deceptive recruitment, release the victims, and prosecute those responsible, and it found no trace of forced enlistment on the Ukrainian side. Moscow denies any illegal recruitment; Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov did not respond to Bloomberg's requests for comment. The commission is not recognized by Russia, which has not granted it any cooperation.