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Russia has long been a preferred destination for students from across Africa seeking affordable higher education. In 2023, Russia estimated that 32,000 students from the Middle East were living in the country — nearly half of them Egyptian. But in recent months, controversy has erupted in Egypt following the publication of a YouTube video that showed a Ukrainian-held prisoner of war. The young man, Amar Mohamed, was an Egyptian student in Russia who had been persuaded by Moscow’s propaganda machine to join the army.
Since the beginning of the war, the Russian army has been trying to convince Egyptian students and workers to enlist, offering them salaries of up to $6,000 and Russian citizenship in exchange. It has even been reported that Egyptian prisoners in Russia are being blackmailed – forced to the front lines or face expulsion from the country. According to Egyptian media, 25 Egyptian mercenaries have died since the start of the war.
Reporting by Mathilde Delvigne and Gregory Holyoke.
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