The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has claimed that Russia is pushing African prisoners onto the front lines of their conflict with Ukraine.
Oleh Nikolenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian government, made this charge in a tweet: “Putin is transporting African individuals who are detained in Russia to the battle in Ukraine. A previous student from Zambia was murdered.
“We call on African Union and all African states to demand that Russia stop press ganging their nationals. Africans shouldn’t die for Putin’s sick imperial ambitions.”
The death in action of Lemekhani Nyirenda, a 23-year-old Zambian student at the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, has prompted questions from Lusaka to Moscow.
He was incarcerated for a drug offence at the time of his tragic death in Ukraine in September.
Although the specifics of his release from custody are unknown, a BBC Africa report noted that Russia has offered freedom to some prisoners in exchange for participating in the conflict in Ukraine.
