Tears stream down Anne Ndarua’s face whenever she speaks about her only son.
African men desperate for work are being deceived, coerced and sent to the front lines of Russia’s war in Ukraine, with many killed, wounded or missing, according to harrowing testimonies from victims and their families.
Whenever Anne Ndarua speaks about her only son, she breaks down in tears.
Six months ago, Francis Ndung’u Ndarua, a 35-year-old Kenyan, left home for Russia after being promised a well-paid job as an electrical engineer. Today, his mother does not know whether he is still alive.
Anne says she last heard directly from Francis in October. Since then, there has been silence — punctuated only by disturbing videos that have gone viral, reinforcing what many African families now describe as a deadly trap set by Russian recruiters.
According to CNN, Anne received one such video in December from an unknown Kenyan number. In it, her son pleads with fellow Africans not to travel to Russia in search of work. Francis warns that migrants are being forcibly drafted into the Russian military and sent straight to the battlefield in Ukraine.
“You end up being taken into the military even if you’ve never served before,” he says in the video. “You’re sent to the frontline. People are being killed. Many friends have died in the name of money.”
About a week later, an even more disturbing clip surfaced online, showing Francis in military uniform with what appears to be a landmine strapped to his chest. He looks visibly terrified as a Russian-speaking man hurls racist insults, declaring that Francis would be used as a “can-opener” to break through Ukrainian positions.
“It’s so traumatising,” Anne told CNN, saying she could not bring herself to watch the footage after her daughter described it to her. She said speaking publicly was a desperate attempt to prompt action from both Nairobi and Moscow.
“I’m appealing to the Kenyan and Russian governments to work together to bring those children home,” she said. “They lied to them about real jobs, and now they’re trapped in a war with their lives in danger.”
Before leaving Kenya, Francis was unemployed and living with his mother in a small community outside Nairobi. Anne said he paid about $620 to a local agent who promised to secure him legitimate employment in Russia.
She was stunned when her son later told the family that he was being forced into military training shortly after arriving. According to Anne, after just three weeks of basic instruction, Francis was deployed to the front lines in Ukraine.
A CNN investigation has found widespread recruitment of African men by Russian-linked agents, who lure job seekers with promises of civilian work, high pay and even citizenship — only for many to be funneled into one of the deadliest conflicts of the modern era.
CNN reviewed hundreds of chat messages, military contracts, visas, flight and hotel records, and interviewed African fighters and returnees.
The findings reveal a bleak pattern: deception, coercion, unpaid wages, racism and a high likelihood of death.
Precise numbers remain unclear, but several African governments — including Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Botswana — have acknowledged that dozens, and possibly hundreds, of their citizens have been drawn into Russia’s war effort.
Across the continent, local media have reported similar accounts of young men tricked into becoming mercenaries. In response, governments have issued warnings urging citizens to avoid suspicious job offers linked to Russia.
Russia’s Defence and Foreign Ministries did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment, while the Russian embassy in Nairobi declined to comment.
CNN spoke with 12 African fighters still in Ukraine from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda. All said they were initially promised civilian jobs such as drivers, factory workers, security guards or technicians.
They were offered signing bonuses of up to $13,000, monthly salaries of as much as $3,500, and the prospect of Russian citizenship after completing their service.
Instead, they say that upon arrival in Russia they were forced into military service, rushed through minimal training and deployed to active combat zones.
Many reported being compelled to sign contracts written only in Russian, without translation or legal advice. Several said their passports were confiscated.
Despite Russian law requiring foreign recruits to understand the language of their contracts, none of the Africans interviewed spoke Russian.
Promised salaries and bonuses often never materialised. Some fighters accused recruiters or fellow soldiers of stealing money directly from their bank accounts.
“One Russian soldier forced me at gunpoint to hand over my bank card and PIN,” one African fighter told CNN on condition of anonymity. “Nearly $15,000 was withdrawn. I’ve been here seven months and I haven’t been paid a single cent.”
He said four men who arrived in Russia with him have since been killed.
Documents reviewed by CNN show that Russian military contracts are far more restrictive than recruiters suggest. They impose open-ended combat obligations, strict loyalty clauses and financial penalties for leaving. Provisions allow the state to restrict movement, seize passports and enforce lifelong secrecy.
Promises of civilian retraining or job placement — frequently highlighted in recruitment pitches — apply only after at least five years of service and under narrowly defined discharge conditions.
On social media, however, a very different message is being promoted.
In one widely shared video, a Nigerian man in Russian military uniform urges Africans to enlist, describing the process as “very, very easy and very good, no stress.” Other videos circulate in Igbo, Swahili, Twi and Pidgin English, targeting specific communities.
In another clip, Ghanaian soldier Kwabena Ballo boasts on TikTok: “My salary can feed your father, mother and whole family for two or three years.”
Nearly all the African fighters interviewed by CNN said the reality was brutal.
They described constant danger, racial abuse by commanders, unpaid wages and the bodies of fellow Africans left on the battlefield for months. Some said colleagues lost limbs without compensation, while enduring severe psychological trauma.
“The war here is very hot, and many people are dying on both sides,” said the only African fighter who told CNN he intended to complete his contract. “This was not what these guys expected.”
Despite such accounts, Russia continues to feature African recruits on state television, portraying them as honoured volunteers. Lawmakers publicly praise them, and citizenship ceremonies are broadcast as evidence of Russia’s claimed inclusiveness.
Patrick Kwoba, a 39-year-old Kenyan carpenter, said he believed the propaganda. After seeing an African acquaintance in the Russian army appearing to live well on social media, he paid an agent $620 and was promised a $23,000 signing bonus.
“I thought I was going to be a security guard, not a combatant,” Kwoba said in Nairobi after managing to escape.
He described his four months in Ukraine as “hell”. After just three weeks of training, he was sent to the front line and later injured in a Ukrainian drone and grenade attack.
“When I asked for first aid using the code ‘three-star’, my Russian partner chased me away and started shooting at me,” he said.
Kwoba eventually escaped during recovery leave in St Petersburg and made his way to the Kenyan embassy in Moscow. With the help of embassy staff, he returned home using temporary travel documents.
“Once you step into the Russian military, you escape or you die,” he said. “Even if you finish your contract, they still force you to stay.”
Kwoba still requires surgery to remove shrapnel and says he is lucky to be alive.
Another returnee, Kenyan photographer Charles Njoki, 32, applied directly through a Russian army recruitment portal, hoping to earn money to support his pregnant wife.
He sold his car to fund the trip and arrived in Russia within a week. During training, his wife miscarried — news he learned days later because recruits’ phones had been confiscated.
Njoki was injured in a drone attack and now has permanent damage to his hand and spine. He said African fighters were deliberately used as expendable bait.
“They tell you that you’ll be guarding places, not fighting,” he said. “But you end up on the front line.”