The Monocle Daily: Why is Russia Targeting Africans to Fight its War in Ukraine?

November 13, 2025

Hosted by Andrew Muller

Guests: Rachel Cunliffe (New Statesman, Associate Political Editor), Ash Bhardwaj (journalist, author of "Why We Travel")
Special Segment: Interview from the Tourize Summit in Riyadh with Sebastian Bazin (CEO of Accor Hotels)

Overview

Today's episode explores:

• Russia's recruitment of African nationals to fight in Ukraine—examining its motivations, implications, and the human realities for recruits.
• Fallout from newly-released Epstein-Trump correspondences and fractures in the MAGA/QAnon community.
• Tourism issues: Portugal’s ambitions, over-tourism challenges, and Saudi Arabia’s push to rewrite global travel rules.
• Pop-cultural sidebar: The Pope’s favorite films and a lighthearted round of “name your favorite four.”

Main Topics & Key Insights

1. Russia’s Recruitment of Africans for the War in Ukraine (05:35–12:14)

What’s Happening

• Kenyan authorities estimate at least 200 of their citizens are serving in the Russian military; reports suggest an “African legion” of ~1,400 soldiers.
• Many are misled by recruitment promises (construction, warehouse work), then find themselves fighting in Ukraine.

Key Analysis

• Ash Bhardwaj:
  “Russia’s certainly been struggling for numbers… Putin is afraid of wider conscription because it would threaten his power within Russia.” (06:28)

  • References influx of North Korean and Indian recruits, indicating desperation.
  • Draws parallels between Russia’s tactics and classic trafficking/forced labor schemes.

• Rachel Cunliffe:
  “It’s a numbers game… the losses that the Russian military are taking… it’s essentially a meat grinder.” (07:53)

  • Russian authorities luring people from several countries, using tactics akin to human trafficking.
  • Conscripts’ lack of commitment makes them poor soldiers—contextualizes Russia’s strategy as prioritizing bodies over skills.

• Contrast with Ukraine’s Foreign Legion:

  • Ukrainian foreign legion: Volunteers seeking to “fight the good fight.”
  • Russian legion: Recruits often unaware or coerced, with little actual motivation to fight.
  • “If they have been trafficked, as it seems, and they don’t expect to end up there, obviously they’re not going to be particularly committed to the fight.” — Ash Bhardwaj (10:06)
  • Russia’s approach seen as “using up resources, especially cannon fodder, which is really tragic.” — Rachel Cunliffe (11:14)

Memorable Quote

• “If you look at the losses the Russian military are taking… it really is very, very slow gain at huge cost. And it’s essentially a meat grinder.” – Rachel Cunliffe (07:53)

2. Epstein–Trump Fallout: Fractures Among U.S. Conservatives (12:14–21:25)

What’s Happening

• A new tranche of Jeffrey Epstein’s emails links him closely with Donald Trump, heightening tension within MAGA/QAnon circles.

Key Discussion

• Rachel Cunliffe:
  “What we've learned from the documents... clear links between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein... at some point they fell out... because Epstein was poaching workers from his hotels in Mar-a-Lago.” (13:08)

  • Highlights irony: Those convinced of a deep-state pedophile cabal now face evidence against their own champion.
  • “There are real splits underway in the MAGA movement as a result of that, and real disappointment with the way Trump is responding to all of this, even though to the rest of us it’s not very surprising.” (15:09)

• Ash Bhardwaj:
  Notes division within Republican ranks as some politicians vote to release all documents, signaling the party’s internal crisis.

• Discussion on whether Trump could pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, with both agreeing such a move politically impossible now.

  • “There’s no absolute smoking gun. But he is certainly mentioned in Jeffrey Epstein’s correspondence more often and in different tones than I think most of us would want to be ourselves.” — Andrew Muller (20:02)

Memorable Moment

• “There are other individuals, maybe Donald Trump, maybe others who are out there right now living their lives perfectly happily, who would be exposed were there to be a proper, in depth public investigation… That just doesn’t seem to be happening.” — Rachel Cunliffe (17:56)

3. Tourism: Portugal’s Growth, Over-Tourism, and Global Travel Trends (21:25–26:43)

Portugal’s Ambitions

• Portugal is investing to enter the World Economic Forum’s tourism top 10.
• Efforts: Decongesting big cities, promoting food and culture, spreading tourism benefits more widely.

Panel Insights

• Ash Bhardwaj:
  “Part of this initiative that Portugal is talking about is about making tourism and travel more sustainable... not just carbon footprint, but socially sustainable.” (22:10)

• Rachel Cunliffe:
  Raises the issue of social tension from “Instagram-viral” overtourism, sharing Switzerland anecdote:
  “Now when you go, you can’t hike the path because there are too many people on the path… and it’s dangerous.” (24:28)

Effect of Changing Tourist Demographics

• Ash illustrates changes in the Galapagos: COVID led to local Ecuadorian tourism, which brought social and economic rifts that are hard to “unwind” (25:02).

4. Quick-Fire Travel Tips (26:43–27:33)

Destinations Recommended

• Ash: Palermo (Sicily), Sarajevo (Bosnia & Herzegovina)
• Rachel: Vancouver Island (“We woke up and saw bears outside our window.”)

5. Culture: The Pope’s Four Favourite Films & Panel’s Top Picks (27:33–33:02)

The Pope’s Picks (28:29)

• It's a Wonderful Life
• The Sound of Music
• Ordinary People
• Life is Beautiful

Panel Discussion:

• Gentle ribbing about predictability and nostalgia in the Pope’s choices:
  “It's a very kind of soft, cuddly Pope entertainment vibe, isn't it?” — Rachel (29:00)
• Amusement at process: “Did he get checked off by a papal committee?” — Ash (29:19)
• Light debate about The Sound of Music’s joy/horror depending on one’s perspective.
• Panel shares their own favorite films, with fondness for Lord of the Rings, Trading Places, 10 Things I Hate About You, etc.

6. Special Report: Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Push – Interview with Accor CEO (33:43–40:27)

Key Insights

• Sebastian Bazin (Accor) on Saudi Arabia & Gulf States:

  • “You have what I've been dreaming of, the five things in the same hand: leadership, vision, financial capacity, geography... and local population who dream of participating and being trained.” (34:42)
  • Praised Gulf dynamism: “They know what they want and they know how to talk about it and they know how to get it done. Thank God. They need me as a curator, as a guide.” (35:23)
  • Visits every 2 months: “You need to be physically present. You need to come every six weeks, every two months, because the plan has changed...” (36:12)

• Europe's Challenges:

  • “What’s messy about Europe today is planification, leadership, capacity to act, financial means and of course very fragile economies... But it’s actually time to invest in Europe.” (36:33)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If you look at the losses that the Russian military are taking… it's essentially a meat grinder.” — Rachel Cunliffe (07:53)
• “Russia’s certainly been struggling for numbers… Putin is afraid of wider conscription because it would threaten his power within Russia.” — Ash Bhardwaj (06:28)
• “There are real splits underway in the MAGA movement… even though to the rest of us it’s not very surprising.” — Rachel Cunliffe (15:09)
• “You have what I’ve been dreaming of, the five things in the same hand… leadership, vision, financial capacity, geography, and local population who dream of participating and being trained.” — Sebastian Bazin (34:42)
• On The Pope’s film picks: “It's a very kind of soft, cuddly Pope entertainment vibe.” — Rachel Cunliffe (29:00)

Segment Timestamps

• Russia’s recruitment of Africans for Ukraine war: 05:35–12:14
• Epstein–Trump email fallout: 12:14–21:25
• Portugal tourism & over-tourism: 21:25–26:43
• Travel recommendations: 26:43–27:33
• The Pope’s favorite films & panel’s picks: 27:33–33:02
• Accor CEO on Saudi tourism & Europe: 33:43–40:27

Conclusion

This episode delivers a sharp, globally-engaged panel covering urgent developments in international politics (Russian military tactics, U.S. scandals), social transitions in tourism, and lighter pop-cultural moments, all in Monocle's dry, discerning tone. Listeners gain context for evolving world events along with warm, relatable vignettes about travel, culture—and even, via the Pope, the importance of treading carefully when declaring what one loves on the world stage.