Botswana announces recruitment of its citizens into the Russian army: Ukraine calls for vigilance

The southern African country of Botswana has announced that two of its citizens have been fraudulently recruited into the Russian army. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded and urged the foreign government to remain vigilant.

In a statement, the Botswana Foreign Ministry said that the country had received reports of two men aged 19 and 20 who were allegedly victims of a "deceptive recruitment process." They were promised to participate in a short-term military training program in Russia, but in fact found themselves on the front lines as part of the occupying army.

The country's Foreign Ministry is currently trying to establish the veracity of the information in order to establish the whereabouts of its citizens and, if necessary, facilitate their repatriation.

The Ukrainian side took note of this statement and noted that it values its relations with Botswana and is ready to maintain close cooperation with the competent authorities to prevent recruitment.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that since the beginning of the full-scale war, Russia has been recruiting foreigners, in particular from African countries, misleading them with offers of "training, employment," or other allegedly short-term opportunities.

"The youth of Botswana should not be drawn into armed aggression through methods of disinformation, coercion or financial incentives organized by foreign state structures... We call on all governments in Africa to remain vigilant against systematic campaigns of illegal recruitment," the Foreign Ministry emphasized.

• In October, Cuba rejected participation of its soldiers in Russia's war against Ukraine.
• According to the "I Want to Live" project, the following people died in Ukraine 314 Belarusians and 270 Kazakhswho fought on the side of the Russian Federation.
• In November, Kenya announced that more than 200 of its citizens are fighting on the side of Russia in the war against Ukraine.
• In early December, in South Africa detained five people on suspicion of recruiting people for Russia's war against Ukraine