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Bigger than ,000 Kenyans had been recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine, with companies focused on inclined groups. Russia denies involvement as Kenya and South Africa elevate concerns.
Bigger than ,000 Kenyans had been recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine, with companies focused on inclined groups. Russia denies involvement as Kenya and South Africa elevate concerns. (Image: AFP)
Bigger than 1,000 Kenyans were recruited to fight for Russia in its war against Ukraine, based on an intelligence file presented to Kenya’s parliament, underscoring the scale of an alleged covert recruitment community focused on African nationals.
Kenya’s Nationwide Assembly Majority Chief, Kimani Ichung’wah, advised MPs that “rogue recruitment companies and individuals in Kenya” were continuing to send citizens to the conflict zone. He was presenting findings from an investigation conducted by the National Intelligence Service.
The figure marks a sharp rise from November, when Kenya’s foreign affairs ministry said more than 200 Kenyans had travelled to fight in the war.
Targeting The Vulnerable
According to the report, recruitment agencies have been targeting former military personnel, police officers and civilians aged between their mid-20s and 50s who are seeking employment opportunities abroad.
Recruits were allegedly promised monthly salaries of about 350,000 Kenyan shillings (around £2,000), bonuses ranging from 900,000 to 1.2 million shillings, and the prospect of Russian citizenship.
The intelligence report also accused the agencies of colluding with officials from several Kenyan government bodies, including the Directorate of Immigration Services, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and its Anti-Narcotics Unit, and the National Employment Authority, to avoid interception at Nairobi’s international airport.
It further alleged that the agencies worked with staff at the Russian embassy in Kenya and the Kenyan embassy in Moscow to secure Russian visitor visas for the recruits.
Russia Denies Allegations
In response, the Embassy of Russia in Kenya denied any involvement in recruiting Kenyan nationals to fight in Ukraine, calling the claims part of a “dangerous and misleading propaganda campaign.”
“The authorities authorities of Russia secure by no manner engaged in unlawful recruitment of Kenyan citizens within the defense pressure of the Russian Federation,” the embassy said in a statement posted on X.
Casualties And Repatriations
The report noted that due to tighter airport screening in Kenya, recruits have begun travelling through neighbouring countries, including Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa.
As of February, 39 Kenyans had been hospitalised, 30 repatriated, 28 were missing in action, 35 remained in military camps or bases, 89 were on the frontline, one had been detained, and one had completed their contract.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said in November that more than 1,400 individuals from 36 African countries were fighting for Russia in Ukraine, with many captured as prisoners of war.
Diplomatic Concerns
Kenya’s Foreign Minister, Musalia Mudavadi, is expected to visit Russia next month to address what he described as the “unacceptable and clandestine” recruitment of Kenyan nationals.
The distress has also surfaced in South Africa. Four South Africans not too prolonged within the past returned dwelling from Russia after allegedly being tricked into becoming a member of the warfare. They had been segment of a neighborhood reportedly linked to Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, daughter of old president Jacob Zuma.
South Africa’s International Minister, Ronald Lamola, acknowledged the distress remained complex since the recruits had been allegedly lured by a non-public security contractor in wish to without lengthen enlisted into the Russian military.
The revelations secure intensified concerns across African international locations in regards to the exploitation of inclined job seekers within the continued war.
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First Revealed:
February 19, 2026, 22:58 IST
News world Over 1,000 Kenyans Lured To Fight For Russia In Ukraine War: File
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