The Ukrainian Armed Forces Captured A Zimbabwean Citizen

• 26.08.2026, 9:11

An African man recounted how his salary was stolen while he was serving in the Russian military.

A 42-year-old Zimbabwean, Daniel Pomo, was taken prisoner by the Ukrainian Defense Forces. He had come to Russia to pick apples but was conscripted into the Russian Armed Forces against his will. An interview with the African mercenary was published by the “Skelya” regiment, according to Dialog.UA.

Pomo believed the promises of a Russian recruiter that he would work in an orchard for a salary of $700 a month. When he arrived in Russia, he found neither a job nor any money.


“They met me at the airport. And that’s when everything started to go wrong… I didn’t understand most of the documents they gave me to sign; no one translated them for me… They just handed me a piece of paper and said, ‘Sign here, here, and here’… I ended up in the Russian army. I was deceived,” the mercenary said.

He noted that after that, there was nothing he could do, as he was under round-the-clock surveillance by his escorts. In the end, Russian commanders gave him an assault rifle and a couple of grenades and sent him to the front lines. The man walked for several days without food or water and eventually stumbled upon the positions of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

Poma calls the Ukrainian soldier he accidentally came across an “angel.” He believes it was thanks to him that he survived. It is noteworthy that, according to the man, the recruiter registered his bank card to his own phone. The mercenary never saw the promised payments.

“There was money in the bank account, but then they took it away. There was more than 2.6 million (rubles—ed.) plus 400,000. But when the 2.6 million came in, they withdrew it immediately… The money would come into the account and be withdrawn right away… They knew we wouldn’t be coming back,” Pomo stated.