HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe on Wednesday said that 15 of its citizens have been killed after being recruited into the war between Russia and Ukraine, as authorities warn of fraudulent schemes to lure recruits from several other African countries into the four-year-old conflict.
Information Minister Zhemu Soda told reporters in the capital, Harare, that the government is ramping up diplomatic efforts to get back home 66 other Zimbabweans who are still alive.
Besides Zimbabwe, African countries such South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria have reported similar cases of their nationals being tricked to Russia with false promises of work but ending up on the front lines of the war.
Soda said victims from Zimbabwe had received deceptive and lucrative job offers by “fraudulent” employment agencies “leveraging social media platforms as their primary hunting ground.”
He said the “pattern” includes victims being promised attractive salaries and safe working conditions, but they ended up being stripped of travel documents and “coerced into active combat.”
“They receive little to no training and are placed in life-threatening situations. When they are injured, killed or captured, the recruiters vanish, leaving families in Zimbabwe with no information, no support and no one to hold accountable. In many cases, the promised remuneration is never paid,” said Soda.
The southern African country, which enjoys close relations with Russia, is now working to secure the return of survivors and repatriate the bodies of those killed, the minister said.
Zimbabwe’s announcement follows similar cases across Africa, where governments say their citizens have been lured through deceptive recruitment drives into the conflict, which has killed close to 2 million people, according to a January report by the thank tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.
In South Africa, police questioned 11 men who returned home in February after allegedly being recruited to Russia under the pretense of security training. Authorities later confirmed that two South Africans were killed in the conflict, while several others were injured or stranded.
An intelligence report in Kenya stated that as many as 1,000 Kenyans were recruited with promises of jobs before being sent to the front line in Ukraine. The report said dozens were injured, missing or still fighting, and at least one Kenyan had died.
Ukrainian officials have estimated that more than 1,700 Africans may have been recruited to fight for Russia, while cases involving citizens of Nigeria and other countries have also been reported.
Investigations by The Associated Press in 2024 found that recruitment networks have targeted workers in Africa and Asia through social media advertisements and private agencies, offering work-study programs or civilian jobs that later turned into military contracts. Some recruits said their passports were confiscated and they were forced to fight with little training.
In this image made from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Monday, March 23, 2026, Russian soldiers carry ammunition for a Russian Pion self-propelled 203 mm cannon preparing to fire towards a Ukrainian position. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this image made from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Monday, March 23, 2026, a Russian Pion self-propelled 203 mm cannon fires towards a Ukrainian position. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
Kyle Busch grew to expect — even appreciate — the boos.
The driver nicknamed Wild Thing, Outlaw, Rowdy and KFB over his 26-year NASCAR career was more comfortable than anyone might imagine with a checkered flag in one hand and fans jeering all around. He leaned into the villain role as the wins mounted — and boy did they — and even started encouraging his haters, trying to get the howling to a fever pitch before delivering his signature bow.
It was Busch at his best.
And it’s the way he should be remembered.
The two-time Cup Series champion, who won more races than anyone across NASCAR’s three national series, died Thursday at age 41. Tributes poured in, with many echoing the sentiment that racing had lost one of its fiercest competitors.
Busch was that — and so much more.
He was arguably the greatest driver of his generation, displaying unrivaled success. He notched a combined 234 wins — 63 in the top-tier Cup Series and another 171 in NASCAR’s two feeder series, O’Reilly (102) and Trucks (69).
He was a devoted husband, a side that became public when he and wife Samantha chronicled their struggle to become parents and later founded the Bundle of Joy Fund, which is dedicated to advancing access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) care and providing support so others don’t have to navigate infertility alone. The fund has raised more than $2 million and has celebrated the birth of 111 babies.
He was a loving father, who tirelessly tried to teach his 11-year-old son, Brexton, everything he could about racing and even sold his successful Truck Series team to help raise money to support his son's budding career.
He was even one of NASCAR’s most popular — some would say polarizing — drivers thanks to his longtime M&M's sponsorship. Kids flocked to Busch and his colorful No. 18 Toyota at Joe Gibbs Racing.
Older fans might not have been as supportive, and it was evident every time Busch took the checkered flag and responded to booing with a mocking bow.
“This is a devastating loss and one that is hard for the NASCAR community to process. Kyle was a fierce competitor who demanded the very best from himself each time he put on the helmet,” four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon said. “As teammates, I saw firsthand the passion and intensity he brought to the sport every single day.
“He was a champion and a prolific racer who made a tremendous impact on NASCAR and was a lifelong advocate for all forms of motor sports. But beyond the track, he loved his family deeply and was incredibly proud of Samantha, Brexton and Lennix.”
Busch had become sort of a sympathetic figure in recent years, a series champion in the worst slump of his career and a surefire Hall of Famer who never got to celebrate a Daytona 500 victory. Both skids bothered him, no doubt, the first more than the second.
Busch’s last Cup Series victory came at World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois in 2023. Busch won three of the first 15 races that season, his first with Richard Childress Racing. RCR had built the Next Gen prototype, so the team had an early advantage with the new car.
But once everyone else caught up, Busch and RCR lagged behind. He was winless in his final 105 starts and changed crew chiefs twice this season while searching for a winning combination. The most trying part: Feeling like he was letting Brexton down week after week.
“It’s no secret, right? And seeing my son and his passion that he has; he really is probably my biggest cheerleader,” Busch said at Daytona International Speedway in February. “And he wants to see me run well. He wants to see me win races. He wants to celebrate in victory lane like he sees other drivers’ kids being able to do.
“So there’s nothing more that drives me every single weekend than seeing him see me and be proud of me.”
Busch died after being hospitalized with a severe illness. It came three days before he was to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Busch was testing in the Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord, North Carolina, on Wednesday when he became unresponsive and was transported to a hospital in Charlotte, several people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details have not been disclosed by Busch’s team or family.
Busch’s death came 11 days after he radioed his crew near the end of a Cup Series race at Watkins Glen and asked a doctor to give him a “shot” when he finished the race. Busch had been struggling with a sinus cold exacerbated by the intense G-forces and elevation changes at the New York road course, broadcasters said.
Busch finished that race eighth. He competed at Dover last weekend and — maybe fittingly — won his last Trucks Series start for Spire. He then finished 17th in the NASCAR All-Star race, his final event.
Busch stormed into the Cup Series in 2005 and won Rookie of the Year honors. He was at Hendrick Motorsports at the time, a job he was fired from to make room for Dale Earnhardt Jr.
His career, though, was as much defined by post-race fights, feuds with other drivers and outlandish behavior as all the trips to victory lane.
Nonetheless, Busch won championships in 2015 and 2019 for Joe Gibbs Racing. His first title came after he missed part of the season while recovering from two broken legs. He was let go from JGR in 2022 after losing his M&M’s sponsor and with the team looking to make room for Ty Gibbs, the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs.
Busch landed at RCR, where he ranked a disappointing 24th in Cup Series points after 12 races. But an indelible image was his final victory. And he celebrated that Truck Series win with two bows amid a scattering of boos.
“You take whatever you can get, man,” Busch said. “You never know when the last one is going to be, so cherish them all — trust me.”
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FILE - Kyle Busch is introduced during the NASCAR All-Star auto race at Dover Motor Speedway, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Dover, Del. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton, File, File)
FILE - Kyle Busch drinks champagne after winning the Nationwide series championship and the NASCAR Ford 300 Nationwide series auto race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla., Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009. (AP Photo/Terry Renna, File)
FILE - Kyle Busch celebrates his win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Autism Speaks 400 auto race, Sunday, May 16, 2010, in Dover, Del. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)
FILE - Kyle Busch celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, May 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)
FILE - Kyle Busch waits in his car before practice for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup series Coca-Cola 600 auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Saturday, May 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn, File, File)
FILE - Kyle Busch waits for the start of a NASCAR Xfinity Series auto race Saturday, June 19, 2021, in Lebanon, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
