The European Union Ambassador to Nigeria, Gautier Mignot, has declared that Russia is recruiting Nigerians and other Africans to prosecute its war against Ukraine.
Mignot affirmed this while speaking on Channels Television’s programme, The Morning Brief on Tuesday which marked Russia-Ukraine war fourth anniversary.
“There is another important phenomenon which is impacting Africa, which is recruitment of African men and women by Russia. Women to be sent and work in military plants in Russia and men to be sent as cannon fodder on the front. Of course they are being lured with job promises,” Mignot said.
He explained that what made Russia to turn to Africa were due to mounting military pressure and a shortage of personnel.
“Russia is running out of soldiers, so they have been growingly doing that including with Nigerians, and it’s extremely crude sending these people who have absolutely nothing to do with this war to die on the front,” he said.
Before he added: “Some of them have been captured by the Ukrainian army, and this is something I think African countries have started to react to. We have seen even the Nigerian government publish a communique on this phenomenon of recruitment into war — they did not mention Russia.”
Mignot dismissed suggestion that Russia was winning the war saying, “There are other false perceptions about this war, the impression that Russia is winning the war little by little — no, it is not. There is a stalemate at the front. Actually in the last few weeks it is Ukraine which has reclaimed a few hundred square kilometres of territory.”
