Photo credit, 49th Assault Battalion separated from Sich / Facebook
An African mercenary fighting for Russian forces was captured by Ukrainian soldiers from the 49th separate assault battalion “Sich of Carpathians” on the Totretsk front in the Donetsk region, reports the battalion press service in a video published on Wednesday on its Facebook page.
On the video that BBC Africa consulted, we see a black man, in Russian military uniform interviewed by Ukrainian soldiers. Man is visibly tired and forcibly.
During the interrogation, the prisoner said he was from the Senegal and that he was a student in Russia For two years, according to Ukrainian online media.
According to the Ukrainian army, he had planned to leave Russia for Germany, but was forced to go to the front to earn money before being able to leave.
The man held by Ukrainian troops admitted that before his capture, he feared that the Ukrainian soldiers would shoot him. However, they simply ordered him to follow them.
No identity document that can formally establish nationality was found on the captured individual.
We have joined the Senegalese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Senegalese from the outside and the Ukraine Embassy in Senegal but for the time being, Neither the Senegalese authorities nor the Ukrainians officially confirm identity and nationality of the captured man.
A medical examination made it possible that the man captured by the Ukrainian soldiers was slightly injured in the leg. He benefited from medical assistance and was transferred to be evacuated from the conflict zone.
What do we know of the 49th Sich Infantry Battalion of Carpathians?
The 49th infantry battalion “Sich des Carpates” is a unit of volunteers from the Ukrainian land forces created in May 2022.
The unit previously existed from 2014 to 2016. It was originally created as a detachment. Almost half of the members are from other countries, and there are around 700 volunteers spread across the country.
After the start of the war in the Donbass, By Kutsyn Commander of the separate consolidated assault company, organized a group of volunteers responsible for helping Ukrainian soldiers.
In the summer of 2014, the volunteers joined the Ukrainian National Guard.
On May 23, 2015, they officially joined the Ukrainian armed forces. The same year, they participated in the second battle of Donetsk airport, the Battle of Debaltseve and the Battle of Marinka.
However, on April 13, 2016, the battalion “Sich des Carpates” was dissolved.
Kutsyn said he was deceived by the management of the 93rd mechanized brigade, to which he had subordinate himself provided he is allowed to remain in the Donbass.
The staff of the Ukrainian armed forces challenged this assertion, affirming that the Battalion of Volunteers had been dissolved to put the Ukrainian armed forces to NATO standards, and that the members of the “Sich of Carpathians” battalion had been proposed to join other units.
After the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Kutsyn refounded the battalion with other former members.
Photo credit, 49th Sich Infantry Battalion
Mercenaries
Moscow and kyiv engage in a communication battle on the presence of foreign mercenaries in the ranks of soldiers on the front.
Russians and Ukrainians can count on thousands of foreign fighters committed to fighting alongside them.
Although Russian law formally prohibits the use of mercenaria, Russia calls on mercenaries to strengthen its military workforce.
The Ukrainian army has created the International Legion, a group of soldiers from around the world to fight alongside it.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had said two weeks ago that at least 155 Chinese fought alongside Russian soldiers – two of whom were captured by the Ukrainians – and that he had “information” reporting on the China of Arms to Russia.
Since the beginning of 2024, a total of 3,344 foreign nationals who have gone to fight in Ukraine have received Russian nationality, according to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
About 2,000 nationals of more than 50 countries fought in the Donbass region, 75 % of them to support Russia, according to the journal Africa Defense Forum (ADF).
The prisoner camps in Ukraine contain a few dozen foreign fighters.
