BREAKING NEWS : WATCH:”I Was Scammed” Zimbabwean POW Tatenda Tagwireyi Exposes Russian Military Recruitment Ring in Captured Video
HARARE – Urgent family appeals have followed the official release of interrogation footage by Ukrainian authorities showing 37-year-old Zimbabwean national Tatenda Tagwireyi in custody after being captured on the frontlines.
In the video, appearing below, Tagwireyi breaks his silence to issue a chilling warning to other young Africans, confirming that he was aggressively deceived by a cross-border human trafficking syndicate operating on behalf of the Russian military
“It is Fake”: Lured by False Promises of $20,000
Speaking directly on camera, Tagwireyi, originally from Matsokoto Village in Zimuto, Masvingo, explained how he was trapped after seeking economic opportunities abroad. He details a coercive pipeline where language barriers and isolation are weaponized against foreign recruits.
“Please, don’t ever be cheated, scammed, or tricked by Russian agents,” Tagwireyi warns in the footage. “They said, ‘Come to Russia, we will give you a job as a Russian Army [member] and we will give you 20,000. It’s safe.’ It is fake.”
Tagwireyi explained that after arriving, handlers refused to communicate in English, leaving foreign recruits unable to understand what was happening around them.
“They will never explain to you in English. They speak in Russian, you always follow what others do. They will take your phone, take your passport, and send you in the bush just like that.”
The Reality of the Frontlines
Describing the psychological horror of his deployment, Tagwireyi detailed the brutal environment he was forced into prior to his capture, describing the battlefield as absolute chaos where dead soldiers are left abandoned in the forests.
“I never thought I am going to suffer such a life like that,” he stated. “I am very wondering, why did I do this?”
According to family accounts, Tagwireyi’s last independent communication with his sister occurred on May 10, the exact day he was deployed to the front, when he sent a brief, terrifying text stating he was being sent into Ukraine. Following that message, his family was left entirely in the dark until this video surfaced online.
Captured After Six Days Without Food
Tagwireyi revealed that by the time he was detained by Ukrainian forces, he had been entirely abandoned by his unit.
“When the Ukrainian soldiers captured me, they gave me food, water, and smoking because I was at least six days without food and water,” Tagwireyi shared, adding that since being transferred to a detention facility, he has been treated humanely, allowed to bathe, and given a bed. “I want to thank the Ukraine Army for keeping me well.”
Families Plead for Mercy and Repatriation
With the video now corroborating that Tagwireyi was exploited by a deceptive trafficking network, his family is appealing to the Ukrainian Government, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the Zimbabwean Ministry of Foreign Affairs to secure his safe return.
His relatives argue that his testimony proves he was a victim of human trafficking rather than a voluntary mercenary, and are begging diplomatic channels to facilitate his repatriation to Masvingo.
The case underscores a massive regional crisis, as growing numbers of vulnerable men across the Global South are targeted by illicit online recruitment rings promising safe employment, only to be deployed as front-line casualties.
📺 Watch Tatenda Tagwireyi’s Full Testimony Below:
Source: Tarisai Masimba News