TK: African citizens, including Zimbabweans, have reportedly been recruited to fight for Russia in the war against Ukraine. How many Africans do you estimate have been recruited, and how many have died?

OS: The latest is that, by our estimate, 2 982 Africans from 37 countries of the continent are currently fighting for Russia or have been fighting for it before. The biggest numbers are from Egypt, Cameroon, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and Nigeria. Unfortunately, Zimbabweans are part of it too. I don’t have the latest on the casualties.

TK: Has Ukraine engaged African governments and the African Union to address the recruitment of African citizens into the conflict?

OS: Yes, we use diplomatic channels to signal with maximal clarity: this is a war of aggression that will bring Africans neither honour nor financial gain. Russians know how to lure people, but also how to cheat them out of their money. So, our message to Africans and their family members is: please, be smarter than that; don’t let them use you. More concretely, as to Zimbabwe, our Embassy has been approached recently by a family member of a Zimbabwean citizen who is “missing in action”. Sadly, as he fought for Russia, there are not many ways we can help. Nevertheless, as ambassador, I am ready to meet with my Zimbabwean colleague in Pretoria and discuss all war-related matters at any time. I think it would make sense as soon as possible.

TK: What impact has the war had on African economies?

OS: This war is bad for the world, worse than most Africans imagine. It makes the food, fertiliser, and energy prices go up, and the volume of food and fertiliser supplies go down. Huge capacities, on which the world depended before the 2022 invasion, now simply get destroyed. Supply channels in Black Sea get cut. This war is a catastrophe not only for Ukraine but for the world in general. Therefore, it would be in the world’s best interest to do its utmost to help stop it.

TK: Ukraine is a major exporter of wheat and other agricultural products. How has the war affected fertiliser and wheat production, and what measures has Kyiv taken to maintain supplies to markets, including Africa?

OS: Fertiliser production is extremely energy-consuming. And as 60% of Ukraine’s energy grid has been destroyed by Russia’s deliberate attacks over the last few years, fertiliser production took a hit too. Wheat production decreased less significantly, but here we have another problem: the Black Sea ports cannot function properly because of the war. The “Grain from Ukraine” route (that was opened in 2023 with a lot of help of African leaders) is currently not working. Ukraine has suggested to Russia a solution: you stop hitting our vessels and ports – we stop hitting yours, so that Black Sea would be open again. Russia’s response was the usual arrogant rejection. That’s the sad reality.

TK: What practical role can the African Union play in efforts to restore peace between Kyiv and Moscow?

OS: The Global South in general and the AU in particular can be key to restoring peace. You are still friends with Russia. So, do what real friends do: tell them the truth that this war has been a bad idea from the start. That it’s hurting everyone. That it’s leading nowhere. Had Russia’s friends approached Putin and told him that – he would’ve never said his usual lie that “the global majority” supposedly supports Russia’s aggression. And maybe a clearer rejection of the war would be one of the reasons to stop it.

TK: What does Ukraine regard as the key conditions for ending the war?

OS: We demand nothing. Just let’s stop where we are and start talking peace. Russia’s response is: only if you give us the land we couldn’t conquer militarily in these four years. So, the question about “demands” is misplaced here. Russia is the one with “demands”.

TK: What kind of support is Ukraine receiving from the United States and European Union, and what additional support does Kyiv require?

OS: The US shares intelligence with us. EU helps us financially and militarily; it makes sure Ukraine is not defenceless in this war. A decade ago in Syrian Aleppo, the world saw what Russia does to those with no defence: it razes them to the ground. Without help, the whole of Ukraine would’ve looked like Aleppo. It’s only because Ukraine’s partners did the decent thing and didn’t leave us defenceless (and because of the courage of Ukrainians) that we still stand as a free nation.

TK: What does Ukraine expect the United Nations to do to help end the conflict?

OS: The UN has two primary jobs: to prevent wars and to stop them. As of now, it’s doing neither of them. We wish it wasn’t so. But considering Russia’s de facto veto right over whatever the UN does, I can’t imagine how the UN could finally start doing its job properly. When the organisation was founded, five permanent members of the UN Security Council were picked out as, so to speak, the judges of the world. And now we have a conundrum: what to do when one of the judges is the perpetrator of the highest crime, the war of aggression? I don’t have an answer to this question.

TK: What has been the impact of the war on Ukraine’s economy?

OS: The impact, as you can imagine, was devastating. But with help of our allies, Ukraine stands. The country didn’t descend into (to quote Bob Marley) burning’ and looting’. The economic challenges are enormous, but the resilience of people is even bigger.

Original via link: https://zimbabwe-independent.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-hurting-africa-kyiv-envoy-says/