Russia’s Fake Job Offers Are Sending Botswana Citizens to Ukraine’s Front Lines at “Alarming Rate”

Botswana has warned that a growing number of its citizens are being recruited through fraudulent overseas job offers and subsequently forced to fight for Russia against Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on July 18.

The country’s Ministry of International Relations urged citizens to verify employment offers before traveling abroad, warning that recruiters were using promises of civilian work to bring people into schemes connected to the Russian military.

“Recent reports indicate that the number of Batswana being misled into such arrangements is rising at an alarming rate,” the ministry said.

According to the government statement cited by Bloomberg, recruits often discover only after reaching their destination that they are expected to participate in combat operations.

“They are being forced into active combat,” the ministry said, adding that it “continues to receive heartbreaking calls from Batswana already on the frontline, describing the perilous conditions they face.”

Botswana did not disclose how many of its citizens are currently serving with Russian forces. The government said in December that at least two young Botswana nationals may have been recruited.

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Bloomberg noted that authorities in Kenya and South Africa have previously arrested and charged individuals accused of recruiting African nationals to fight for Russia.

In February, Geneva-based nonprofit Inpact, which operates the All Eyes On Wagner monitoring program, reported that at least 316 Africans had been killed while fighting against Ukraine. The organization identified more than 1,400 African nationals allegedly recruited by Russia between January 2023 and September 2025.

Russia’s reliance on foreign recruits comes as its military faces sustained personnel losses in Ukraine. Russian military bloggers estimate that some newly deployed soldiers survive only 20 to 35 minutes after reaching frontline positions, where drones are responsible for a growing share of casualties.

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