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Zambia seeks explanation after national conscripted by Russia and sent to Ukraine

by The Kyiv Independent news desk November 15, 2022 2:54 AM 1 min read

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The Zambian government has requested Russian authorities explain how a Zambian citizen serving jail time in Moscow could have been recruited to fight in Ukraine, where he was killed, Zambia's Foreign Affairs Minister Stanley Kakubo said in a statement on Nov. 14, Reuters reports.

According to Kakubo, the Zambian national was a student who was serving a jail sentence near Moscow after being convicted of breaking Russian law.

Reuters also quoted the student's father, who said his son was serving the prison when he was conscripted to go fight in Ukraine but that he did not know who conscripted him.

There have been multiple reports of Russia recruiting conscripts from Russian prisons. President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 16 that 2,000 Russian prisoners had been sent to fight against Ukraine in Donetsk Oblast.

Author: The Kyiv Independent news desk

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