Putin’s military is ‘strapping mines to African fighters and turning them into suicide bombers’
Mad Vlad’s forces have been accused of luring African troops to the frontline in Ukraine and using them as cannon fodder. Footage appears to show one mercenary with a bomb strapped to his chest as a Russian squaddie brands him a ‘bottle opener’
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Mad Vlad Putin is tricking African troops into joining his war against Ukraine and turning them into human bombs, its claimed.
The Russian leader has been accused of luring in soldiers to fight in the bloody war before “using them as meat for the meat grinder”.
Ukraine’s ambassador to South Africa, Olexander Scherba, made the claim, saying Moscow does “not value” the lives of Africans.
He said they have been pushed to the front lines to bolster Russia’s dwindling fighting numbers.
At the end of 2025, Kyiv officials said it had identified 1,426 fighters from 36 African countries currently serving in the Russian army, but warned the real life number could be higher.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the men are being used as nothing more than “cannon fodder” in the brutal war that continues to rage.
Footage on social media appears to show one mercenary with a bomb strapped to his chest. A Russian soldier mocks him by branding him a ‘bottle opener’ and says he is going to blow himself up to ‘open’ an enemy bunker.
So far the fighting has seen an estimated one million Russians killed, wounded or missing since first invasion in February 2022.
Mr Scherba told The Telegraph: “There might be all kinds of charm offensives on the African continent, but once an African person comes to this war, they just become meat for the meat grinder.
” Russia looks at Africa through imperial eyes and does not value Africans regardless of whether they had joined its ranks willingly or not.
“Even those who are dedicated to Russia, even those who love Russia, in the end they still can wind up just as meat in the meat grinder,” he added.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, many reports have emerged of African nationals fighting alongside Moscow’s forces, with some accusing Russian military of using deceptive tactics to recruit them.
Just two weeks ago, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of former South Africa resident Jacob Zuma, resigned as an MP over allegations that she tricked 17 men into fighting for Russia against Ukraine.
The men aged between 20 and 39 were lured into joining mercenary forces ‘under the pretext of lucrative employment contracts’ and had issued distress calls after becoming trapped in the Donbas area of Ukraine.
