Yevgeny Prigozhin has confirmed that a Zambian national who died in Ukraine had been fighting for his group

The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has confirmed that a Zambian national who died in Ukraine had been fighting for his group, Qazet.az reports according to TheGuardian.

The admission by Prigozhin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, comes two weeks after Zambia demanded an urgent explanation from Moscow over the death of its citizen.

Lemekhani Nathan Nyirenda, 23, “died a hero” fighting with Russian forces, Prigozhin said on Telegram.

He said:

Lemekhani Nathan Nyirenda on September 22 was one of the first to break into enemy trenches, showing courage and bravery.

Nyirenda father said he had been serving a nine-year jail sentence on the outskirts of Moscow for a drug offence when he was “conscripted” to fight, Reuters reports. His family said it was unclear how he was recruited or by whom.

Prigozhin said he “remembered this guy well” and had met Nyirenda on his recruitment drive across Russia’s prisons. He claimed the Zambian willingly agreed to go and fight for Wagner.