Guinea man returns home after being forced to serve in the Russian army.

A young Equatoguinean man, who believed he would go to Russia for body‑guard training but instead served in Ukraine, has safely returned home, according to an AFP reporter.

Daniel Angel Masie Nchama was welcomed by his parents upon disembarking from an Ethiopian Airlines flight in Malabo.

“It’s great to be back in the country,” he told reporters upon his arrival.

He departed his home country in December 2025 after a Cameroonian residing in Russia contacted him, promising military training and a future body‑guard position.

Following 45 days in Russia and two months of training in Murmansk, he was involuntarily transferred to a Russian military base in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, a combat zone.

In mid‑February, the All Eyes on Wagner collective released a list of 1,417 Africans recruited by Moscow from January 2023 to September 2025 to fight in Ukraine, noting that over 300 had died.

The Equatoguinean government has pledged to dismantle trafficking networks that lure young African men to Russia.