They promise $ 5,000: students from Africa to war against Ukraine are being recruited in the Russian Federation - the media
They are offered to join the ranks of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation or "Wagner Group", promising a cash remuneration of $ 3 to $ 5 thousand. Some of the foreigners agree because representatives of educational institutions are threatened with the abolition of scholarships and increasing the cost of study. About it writes Daily Beast.
Employees of the Russian Southern Federal University (PFU) in Rostov-on-Don, near the border with Ukraine, put pressure on the African students of the university to join the Russian occupation forces in the Donbass of Ukraine, three students of the educational institution reported.
In the last three months, according to students, PFC officials have tried to convince them to accept a proposal either from the Russian army or from the Wagner group, claiming that both parties are ready to pay up to $ 3,000 and $ 5,000 respectively to foreigners who want to go to fight against Ukraine. Students said some representatives of the university have warned them that the Russian government could increase the cost of studying or cancel scholarships in case of refusal to offer.
"They are three (officials at school) who met us and so tried to convince us to fight for Russia . . . They said that we could not last long in Ukraine, make so much money, and then return to Russia to continue their education. They They met so many African students and told them about it, ”a student from Nigeria told reporters.
Representatives of the university, according to the interlocutor of the publication, are well acquainted in the hostel, as they can often be seen in the premises of the university "with official certificates and those who talk to other colleagues". "They have repeatedly reminded us that some Africans are already fighting in Ukraine and making good money. They want us to believe that the fighting in Ukraine will bring us financial benefits," the source said.
Not only PFU officials tried to convince African students to go to the war, according to another Nigerian student of the university, who said that employees of Russian security services in Rostov-on-Don had already tried to persuade African students to go to the war in Ukraine. "If not the police approach (African) students in the park, then soldiers (straight) on the streets to persuade us to fight in Ukraine.
It was strange to hear that security staff told us that we could choose between accession to the Russian army or private a military company, " - quotes another student. Journalists give in the material the figure of 2. 5 thousand foreign students studying in the PFU-two university units are located in Rostov-on-Don and Taganrosis.
Nigerian students who talked to the publication said they are not going to fight in Ukraine but say they know several other students who are in financial trap, who say they consider the proposal as many African students continue to experience financial difficulties after the full -scale wars. In particular, the governments of African countries in some cases cannot pay monthly scholarships to citizens who went to the Russian Federation.
At the same time, cases of participation of African students in the war against Ukraine are already known. In particular, a 27-year-old citizen of the Congo, who came to the Russian Federation 2 years ago, moved to Lugansk with two friends and classmates from the Congo and the Central African Republic to join the militants.
And recently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Zambia reported that on September 22, during the fighting in Ukraine, a 23-year-old Zambian student was killed in Ukraine, who studied nuclear engineering at the Moscow Engineering and Physical Institute (myths) before he was sentenced to Russian Prisons for more than a year.