Why hundreds of Africans want to fight for Ukraine’s foreign legion

Hundreds of people across Africa have expressed an interest in joining the war – many motivated by the idea of migrating to Europe – but various obstacles stand in their way, Portia Crowe and Azil Momar Lô report

Ukraine is currently offering visa-free entry for foreign nationals willing to fight, a rarity for citizens of African countries whose passports often rank among the least powerful in the world (AFP/Getty)

When Senegalese bricklayer Alassane Faye saw the news of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on TV, he immediately wanted to do something to help.

“I can’t stand injustice,” said the 45-year-old from Pout, a town just outside of Senegal’s capital. “I don’t like to see people suffer.”

Faye found the phone number for the Ukrainian embassy in Dakar and called to say he wanted to fight. The embassy pointed him towards an online enrolment form, but then the Senegalese government demanded an end to all recruiting. By that point, at the start of March, 35 others in the country had enlisted.