BOTSWANA STOPS NATIONALS BOUND FOR RUSSIAN ARMY AT AIRPORTS IN THREE COUNTRIES

Sun 23 August 2026:

Botswana announced on Saturday that several of its citizens were stopped at airports in Botswana, South Africa, and Ethiopia while trying to travel to Russia to enlist in the Russian military fighting against Ukraine.

International Relations Minister Phenyo Butale said 22 Batswana had so far been drawn into deceptive recruitment schemes, indicating an increase in the number of nationals being recruited to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war.

“Through vigilance and close collaboration with our sister countries, we have managed to stop and return eight of them intercepted at the very threshold of departure at Sir Seretse Khama international airport in Gaborone, Botswana, OR Tambo international airport in Johannesburg, South Africa and Bole international airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia … just moments before they were carried into the machinery of war,” Butale told lawmakers on Friday.

He said that while some argued that the journeys were a matter of personal choice, the truth was far from it, as they were being lured in and did not realize the danger they faced.

“The government remains deeply troubled by the reactions of a small number of our citizens to our public advisories about the danger of enlisting in foreign conflicts,” he added.

According to the nation’s Foreign Enlistment Act, no individual could evade the law by disguising foreign military engagement as employment or training.

“I therefore reiterate the government’s solemn appeal to the young people of Botswana to exercise the utmost caution before accepting any foreign employment or training offer,” Butale added.

__________________________________________________________________________

https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22

__________________________________________________________________________

At least 2,900 citizens from 36 African countries have been recruited into the Russian military to fight in Ukraine, largely through deceptive online job offers, fraudulent contracts for non-combat roles like security or driving, and coercion by trafficking networks rather than formal state alliances.

Documented numbers are highest from nations including Kenya, Egypt, Cameroon, Ghana, and South Africa.

Hundreds of African recruits have been reported killed, missing, or captured as prisoners of war after minimal basic training.

Advertisements on social media and employment boards promised high monthly salaries, signing bonuses, and Russian citizenship for driving, cleaning, or security positions. Young workers, particularly women, have been lured via fake hospitality or logistics programs into hazardous manufacturing environments like drone factories. Recruits report arriving in Russia or transit countries only to have their passports seized and to find themselves forcibly redirected to military training camps for high-risk front-line assault units.

Governments in Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa have engaged in diplomatic talks with Moscow to halt recruitment, investigate local agents, and repatriate trapped citizens or prisoners of war.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

__________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

WhatsApp CHANNEL
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22