Senegalese Student Fighting for Russia Captured by Ukrainian Forces: “I Am From Senegal”

In a shocking development highlighting the human cost of the Russia-Ukraine war, Malick Diop, a young Senegalese student, has been captured by Ukrainian forces while fighting alongside the Russian army.

Diop, originally from Keur Mandoubé in Koungheul, was seen in a widely circulated video online, visibly exhausted and dressed in a Russian military uniform. In the brief but haunting footage, he confirms his identity, stating, “I am from Senegal.”

According to reports from Radio Futurs Médias (RFM), one of Senegal’s leading radio networks, Diop was formerly a student at the Alioune Diop University of Bambey, where he was part of the 8th cohort of engineering and law students. His former peers remember him as a kind and welcoming presence on campus.

“I knew him; he welcomed me when I was a new student,” recalled Astou Ndiaye, a former classmate, who also revealed that Diop’s journey to Russia was born out of economic hardship. “He left for Russia due to financial struggles and did not want to stay in the country anymore,” Ndiaye added.

Further investigations indicate that after spending two years studying in Russia and failing in an attempt to migrate to Germany, Diop, facing mounting financial pressures and uncertainty, allegedly enlisted in the Russian military out of sheer desperation.

His former classmates are now rallying for his safe return, urgently calling on the Senegalese government and the Ukrainian consulate to intervene. They fear for his well-being amid the ongoing conflict and are demanding swift diplomatic efforts to ensure his safety and eventual repatriation.

Diop’s capture highlights a disturbing trend of foreign students being drawn into the conflict, sometimes against their initial intentions, as global economic disparities continue to intersect with international wars.