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The war in Ukraine is said to have claimed tens of thousands of lives

By Kennedy Gondwe

Lusaka

Zambia has demanded answers over the death of a student who was fighting for Russia in Ukraine.

Lusaka has asked Moscow "to urgently provide information on the circumstances" surrounding Lemekhani Nyirenda's death.

The 23-year-old, a student at the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, had been serving nine years in jail for a drug offence.

He died in September but Russia has only just informed Zambia's government.

The Zambian embassy in Russia established that Mr Nyirenda's body had since been transported to the Russian southern border town of Rostov-on-Don in readiness for repatriation to Zambia, Zambia's Foreign Affairs Minister Stanley Kakubo said.

"As minister, I have been personally in touch, and will maintain contact with the family of the deceased in order to provide an update on more details surrounding their loved one's death," Mr Kakubo commented.

Zambia has traditionally sent students to Russia to study on scholarships, as was the case with Mr Nyirenda.