Kenya Seeks Explanation from Russia Over Citizens Recruited to Fight in Ukraine War

Kenya has announced it will confront Russia over reports that its citizens are being recruited to fight in Ukraine, according to the country’s foreign minister Musalia Mudavadi. In a Tuesday interview with the BBC, Mudavadi described the recruitment efforts as “unacceptable and clandestine.”

The Kenyan government estimates approximately 200 of its nationals have been recruited to join Russian forces, with families now struggling to recover the bodies of those killed in the conflict. Mudavadi indicated that Kenya has already moved to shut down illegal recruitment operations and plans to urge Moscow to sign an agreement prohibiting the conscription of Kenyan citizens.

“It is difficult because, remember, it depends on where the body has been found,” Mudavadi explained. “Some have been found in Ukraine – we are also working with the government of Ukraine to try and get the remains of those people repatriated.”

The issue extends beyond Kenya alone. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha claimed in November that at least 1,436 foreign nationals from 36 African countries have been recruited to fight for Russia, though the actual number could be higher. Sybiha warned that Russia employs various tactics to recruit foreigners, including financial incentives, deception, and coercion.

“Signing a contract is equivalent to signing a death sentence,” Sybiha wrote on social media platform X. “Foreign citizens in the Russian army have a sad fate. Most of them are immediately sent to the so-called ‘meat assaults,’ where they are quickly killed.”

The recruitment of foreign fighters represents a troubling dimension of Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, which has now stretched into its third year. For economically vulnerable populations in countries like Kenya, where unemployment remains high, the promise of military contracts with substantial pay can be enticing despite the extreme risks involved.

Mudavadi revealed that the Kenyan government had received numerous distress communications from citizens at military camps in Russia. “Several of them have reported injuries among our nationals and others stranded, following attempted recruitment into the violent conflicts,” he told the Kenya News Agency in December.

In response to the crisis, Kenya has implemented stricter recruitment regulations, including deregistering more than 600 non-compliant agencies. The government has also strengthened job verification processes through the Diaspora Placement Agency to prevent exploitation of Kenyan job seekers looking for opportunities abroad.

The issue highlights the far-reaching global impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has now drawn in citizens from dozens of countries across multiple continents. For African nations like Kenya, which have historically maintained relationships with both Russia and Western countries, the war presents complex diplomatic challenges.

International law generally prohibits the recruitment of foreign mercenaries, though countries including Russia have found ways to circumvent these restrictions through contract employment and other legal mechanisms. The practice has drawn criticism from human rights organizations, which argue that economically vulnerable individuals are being exploited as cannon fodder in a conflict they have little stake in.

For families of the Kenyans who have died in Ukraine, the personal tragedy is compounded by logistical difficulties in repatriating remains and obtaining information about their loved ones’ final days. Some have only learned of their relatives’ military service and death through sporadic communications or when contacted by authorities.

As Kenya pursues diplomatic channels with Russia over the issue, the broader question of foreign fighter recruitment in modern conflicts remains unresolved, representing yet another troubling dimension of the ongoing war in Ukraine that has implications far beyond Eastern Europe’s borders.