Kampala protests after 27 Ugandans killed or presumed dead on Ukrainian front
A letter from Uganda's embassy in Moscow lists 11 citizens confirmed dead and 16 whose bodies could not be located, as evidence grows that African men are being lured to Russia's front lines.
Twenty-seven Ugandans enlisted to fight for the Russian military in Ukraine have been killed or are presumed dead, according to a letter from Uganda's embassy in Moscow to its foreign ministry. The letter, seen by Reuters on Thursday, names 11 Ugandans confirmed dead and another 16 whose bodies could not be located.
Uganda's embassy said it had received the information from the Russian Foreign Ministry, and an official at the Ugandan foreign ministry confirmed the letter's authenticity. Russia's embassy in Kampala did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Over the past several months, a growing number of reports have shown that African men are being lured to Russia with promises of employment, only to end up on the front lines of Moscow's unprovoked war against Ukraine. The reports have provoked outrage from officials in Kenya, Ghana and South Africa.
Ukraine said last year that more than 1,400 people from three dozen African countries were fighting alongside Russian forces on its territory, some recruited through deceptive means. Russian authorities have denied illegally recruiting African citizens to fight in Ukraine.
The disclosures add to the mounting evidence of the human cost of the Kremlin's aggression, which has drawn in fighters from beyond its borders while Ukraine continues to defend its sovereignty against an unprovoked assault.