"Help Us": Zimbabweans Stranded at Russian Base Film Distress Call After Refusing Deployment to Battlefield

A group of Zimbabwean men have filmed a secret video appealing for help after refusing orders to deploy to the battlefield. The video, published by Zimbabwean outlet Izwi24News, shows the men in uniform with travelling bags at what appears to be a military facility, describing their situation directly to the camera.

"These are the crew of the Zimbabweans," the man filming says at the start. "We have been lied to that they are going to get better jobs and some money."

No Food. No Pay. No Way Out.

The man goes on saying they refused to go to the battlefield because of unresolved conditions at the base - specifically that commanders had not set up their bank accounts or fixed their payment details before attempting to deploy them.

"They haven't been given food since morning," the man filming says, describing the group eating whatever they had brought in their own bags from the time they signed their contracts at the military base.

When they raised their grievances, the response from commanders was direct:

"You tell them to fix our problems and they say it's too late to fix your problem. Just go to the battlefield and fight and if you survive then you will get your money."

Pay after survival - not before deployment. That is the offer Russia made to these men.

The video was filmed covertly on a phone. "I'll try to hide and show you," the man says, panning the camera to show the group and their travelling bags. "Some of us we don't have money," he adds. "Help us. Help us."

Lied to About Construction

The recruitment pitch that brought these men to Russia follows the pattern documented across dozens of cases from Zimbabwe and other African countries: promises of construction work in Europe, not military service in Russia.

"The agents lied to us," the man says. "They told us we were going to Europe for construction. So now they want to send us to anything."

They were not told they would be going to a front line. They were not given time to prepare. When they tried to push back, the response was deployment pressure, not negotiation. 

Zimbabwe Has Seen This Before

Zimbabwean authorities have previously acknowledged that dozens of citizens have been recruited into the conflict, that many have died, and that others remain trapped on the front lines. Recruiters operating the pipeline have faced increasing legal pressure: Leonid Koftev, a Russian national, was intercepted at Harare airport escorting a recruit. Edward Kachingwe was arrested at a Harare bus terminus while accompanying a man he had just recruited. Oscar Sifelani Mtshiya faces five counts of human trafficking.

See also: 485 Africans were killed in Russia's army - the full list

Those arrests came too late for the men in this video, who are sitting outside a Russian base with their bags packed, being watched by guards, and appealing to anyone watching for help.

"I'm looking forward for your help," the man filming says at the end.

There Is a Way Out

For any foreign national currently inside Russia's military system and looking for a way out, Ukraine's "I Want to Live" programme provides one. Read more here. Don't hesitate and take it untill it's too late. 

Source: Izwi24TV on Facebook