{
  "id": 13163068,
  "title": "African countries ask Ukraine to return citizens who fought for Russia and were captured",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/african-countries-ask-ukraine-to-return-citizens-who-fought-for",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-09T17:07:15.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Insider",
    "slug": "the-insider",
    "url": "https://theins.press/en/news/298126"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Several African nations have approached Ukraine to reclaim their citizens who fought for the Russian military and were subsequently captured, Bloomberg reports. Kenya, Botswana, and Zimbabwe initiated this request, with Kenyan Foreign Secretary Musalia Mudavadi stating that the nation demands five citizens held captive by Ukraine be recognized as victims of international human trafficking instead of prisoners of war. President William Ruto spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about the matter.\n\nMudavadi explains that these individuals, with the youngest being 23, cannot be considered prisoners of war since they were \"recruited under false promises of employment.\" Botswana and Zimbabwe have also contacted Ukraine to discuss the return of their citizens. All three countries insist that Africans sent to the frontlines were first promised civilian jobs before being coerced into military service. Bloomberg states that Ukraine is holding at least 213 foreigners from countries other than Russia and North Korea, 37 of whom are Africans. According to Ukrainian statistics, more than 28,000 foreigners from 135 countries have been recruited by Russia to fight in the war, with over 5,000 having been killed. The Kenyan Wall Street claims Nairobi has official records on 354 citizens who fought in Russia's war against Ukraine, with 84 killed or missing and 62 returned. Local human rights advocates argue the actual number of recruits could be as high as 841 Kenyans who ended up in combat zones.",
  "summary": "Several African countries have asked Ukraine to return their citizens who were captured fighting for the Russian side in the war, Bloomberg reports , specifying that the request came from Kenya, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. Kenyan Foreign Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said Nairobi demands that five of its citizens held in Ukrainian captivity be recognized as “victims of international human trafficking”…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Kyiv Post",
        "title": "14-Year-Old Girl Accused of Poisoning, Strangling Ukrainian Soldier on Russian Handler’s Video Call",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/14-year-old-girl-accused-of-poisoning-strangling-ukrainian-soldier-on",
        "published": "2026-10-09T13:55:27.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Meduza (English)",
        "title": "Siberian teen reportedly dies by suicide after studying and working at Alabuga, where drones are assembled for Russia’s war in Ukraine",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/siberian-teen-reportedly-dies-by-suicide-after-studying-and-working",
        "published": "2026-10-09T15:17:28.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Voice of Ukraine",
        "title": "Russia seeking sanctions relief from U.S. in talks on possible Ukraine energy truce",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/russia-seeking-sanctions-relief-from-u-s-in-talks-on-possible-ukraine",
        "published": "2026-10-09T15:39:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Euronews",
        "title": "Ukraine’s Operation Vivaldi foils Russia’s plan to encircle the Donbas, ISW analysis shows",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/ukraines-operation-vivaldi-foils-russias-plan-to-encircle-the-donbas",
        "published": "2026-10-09T17:04:36.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Kyiv Independent",
        "title": "Ukraine war latest: Drones strike another Yandex data center in Russia",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/ukraine-war-latest-drones-strike-another-yandex-data-center-in-russia",
        "published": "2026-10-09T18:12:16.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}