'Sign contract or get shot': Ugandan captive reveals how Russia forced him to fight

The 63rd Brigade reported the information.

The captive identified himself as Makantora Richard, born in 1982, with a wife and two daughters. Back home in Uganda, he worked odd jobs—as a supermarket cleaner—and lived in a small two-room house. According to him, his earnings barely covered basic necessities like food, soap, and sugar.

Richard explained that he was approached on the street by people offering well-paid work in Russia—at a supermarket, factory, or security service. To make the trip, he took out a bank loan for plane tickets. Along with three other Ugandan men, he set off, believing he was heading to civilian employment.

However, after arriving, everything changed, he said. They were told there was no job—only one option: sign a contract with the Russian army. When they refused, the exits were blocked, guns were pointed at them, and they were given an ultimatum: sign or die.

"The gates were locked. They told us: you're not going anywhere. Then they pointed weapons at us," the man recalled.

The group was then transported at night to an unknown location and later abandoned in a forest. Richard says they were held in an underground facility under horrific conditions—no proper food, infested with bedbugs, surviving only on water and sweets. Some people were forced to sign contracts under pressure.

He said he didn't understand where he'd ended up and only realized from news reports that he was in a combat zone. Eventually, he managed to escape and reach Ukrainian positions.

After his rescue, Richard issued a warning to his fellow countrymen and citizens of other African nations: "Don't believe promises of work in Russia. It's a trap. They'll force you into the army. They'll make you sign a contract at gunpoint. It's better to stay home with your children."