This is the first time that a foreigner recruited by Russia for the war against Ukraine has been reported to have died in the battles.
23-year-old Lemehani Natans Nirenda fell on the battlefield in Ukraine. He is known to have violated Russian laws in 2020 and the court sentenced him to nine and a half years in prison.
A Zambian national who came to Russia to study engineering has served his sentence in a prison on the outskirts of Moscow. Then he arrived on the Ukrainian front, where he lost his life.
“The Zambian government has appealed to the Russian authorities with a request to urgently provide information on the circumstances under which a Zambian citizen, who has served his sentence in a prison in Moscow, could be recruited to fight in Ukraine and then lose his life” . reads a statement published on the social network Facebook.
It became known that Nirenda died in Ukraine on November 9. Later it became clear that the prisoner who fought on the side of Russia lost his life already on September 22.
The Zambian embassy in Russia has confirmed that the deceased has been transferred to Rostov-on-Don and his remains are ready for repatriation to his homeland.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed it will explain the circumstances of the Zambian student’s death.
