Topix Underground

African fighters are present on the front line in Ukraine. Some are there of their own free will. But for others, there may have been deception. Believing they were going to work in Russia, they were sent to fight.

"The Cameroonian clearly evokes a strategy of exhausting the Ukrainians by sending thousands of men from Africa and Asia in Russian uniforms to face the danger. In particular, he explains that he had to throw himself in front of the Ukrainian army, which was invisible because it was entrenched, trampling over numerous decomposing corpses. Apart from death, the only way out is to be taken prisoner or to injure oneself, sometimes deliberately. In the latter case, it's only a short respite in hospital before being sent back into the hell of war. All the more so as he explains that, unlike the troops with native Russians, he and his companions could not benefit from the jamming tools of Ukrainian drones. “We're very poorly equipped. [The Russians] send us out with nothing at all to fight and die."