Sawt Falasteen - Captured Kenyan runner says he was tricked into Russian army

Now in a Ukrainian prison after being captured on the front line, he told AFP he was tricked into signing a Russian military contract that he could not read or understand and would never have come to Russia had he known the truth.

Kibet's testimony highlights the growing number of Africans who say they were duped into joining the Russian military, some by recruitment agencies promising high salaries, others through brazen scams.

"The trap is that you sign this contract without knowing," he told AFP in his jail cell, his eyes bloodshot and face drawn. "They don't force you."

Kyiv facilitated access for journalists, including AFP, to Kibet, who is detained in a facility in western Ukraine.

More than 1,400 citizens from 36 African countries are believed to be fighting alongside Russia in Ukraine, according to Ukraine's estimates.

"Some are offered money, while others are duped and do not realise what they are signing up for or are forced to do so under duress," Ukrainian foreign minister Andriy Sybiga said earlier in November.

Kibet, who was captured near the northeastern Ukrainian city of Vovchansk after being lost in the woods for three days, said that after arriving in Russia he was presented with a job contract working as a security guard.

"It was written in Russian," he told AFP. "And I could not read it."

He only realised that it was a military contract when they brought him to a training camp, he said.

He said his bank account was frozen and his documents confiscated, so there was no way of escaping.

"I didn't plan for this, for going to Russia," he told AFP.

- 'God saved my life' -

The long-distance athlete, who began running aged 14 and is now in his mid-30s, said he did not want to discuss his time on the front line -- an experience that he said gave him nightmares.

But he recalls the moment he was captured after spending three days in the wilderness.

"God saved my life," he told AFP. "I heard someone shooting from somewhere and I went there," not knowing whether the shooting was Russian or Ukrainian, he told AFP.

"I don't want to know who, as long as I can get someone to help me," he said.

He was doubtful he would be released soon.

"For Russians, it is easy for them because they do exchange. But for us, foreigners, it's not easy," he said.

Ukraine and Russia have exchanged thousands of prisoners of war each since the invasion began in February 2022. It is not clear how many have been foreign nationals.

Ukraine has urged foreign troops fighting for Russia to surrender, telling them captivity provides a "ticket to life" and the chance to return home.

Kyiv has not said when Kibet, who it is making available for media interviews, would be released.

Those captured can be held "for years or months", said Petro Yatsenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian POW coordination centre.

In the same prison, AFP met detainees from Togo, Cameroon, and Nigeria.

In April, Togo warned its citizens against accepting scholarships in Russia after one of its nationals was captured on the front lines.

Families in Cameroon have also told AFP of relatives lured to Russia with $4,000 bonuses and Russian citizenship.

In addition to men sent to the front lines, there have been reports of women enticed into going to Russia with the promise of lucrative contracts, only to find themselves working in drone factories.

Contacted by AFP, Kibet's relatives described him as a well-meaning man from a "humble" background who thought he was travelling to Moscow for a race.

"For the past five to six years, he was training every day, hoping he would go and race abroad," his brother, 32-year-old Isaac Kipyego Masai, told AFP.

Kibet was sentenced to 15 years in prison for attempted murder in Kenya but a March 2019 ruling ruled his trial was unfair.

From his prison cell in western Ukraine, he told AFP he hoped to get back to training but could not erase the memories he had seen.

"This, I can't forget," he said.

Y.Shaath--SF-PST