A few days ago, servicemen of one of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine captured an African who was fighting in the ranks of the Russian occupying forces against Ukraine

The prisoner of war claims that he is a citizen of Senegal, wanted to emigrate to Europe, but “accidentally” got to the war in Ukraine. One has to be very naïve to believe in such an “accident”, since the decision voluntarily to go to the war, where there is a real threat of death, must be conscious and sufficiently weighed.

What harm has Ukraine done to Senegal and why a citizen of that country decided to fight with a weapon in his hands against Ukrainians who are defending their land and people from Russian occupants? Obviously, the answer here is unambiguous. Ukraine has never done anything to Senegal’s detriment.

Then what motives did this African have when he decided to go to the war?

Perhaps he wanted to make money in this way, but warfare is a rather hard craft, which not everyone can master. Besides, for most residents of the black continent, the climatic conditions of Ukraine are quite unfavorable, not everyone can withstand them, especially in conditions of intense fighting. It is also worth paying attention to the fact that the modern Russian-Ukrainian war is a high-tech war, where infantry already plays only a supporting role, and therefore the coefficient of usefulness of such mercenaries as our captured Senegalese for the armed forces of the Russian Federation is minimal. The first thing one sees is that this African is quite fluent in Russian, which is a difficult language to learn and cannot be mastered quickly. Therefore, his initial versions about his “accidental” participation in this war and his desire to emigrate to Europe through Russia look very doubtful.

Then who is this captured African in reality, how did he end up on the Russian-Ukrainian front and what is his real mission? In the near future, the Ukrainian investigative authorities will answer these questions. Then there will be a trial, and the person who participated in the Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine will be sentenced to the deserved punishment. But those will be consequences. Here it is important to pay attention to the fact that in order to prevent similar cases in the future, the activities of our diplomatic corps should be significantly strengthened on the African continent. This will allow African people to be less dependent on the destructive influence of Russian propaganda, to receive first-hand information about Ukraine, and the governments of African countries – to establish and develop friendly and mutually beneficial political, financial, economic, scientific, technical and cultural relations with our country.

Oleh Bereziuk,
Institute for Global Politics