A thousand Kenyans 'recruited' for Russia's war — new report

DW News · Feb 19, 2026 · Collected from RSS

Full Article

Kenya's National Intelligence (NIS) said that 1,000 Kenyans have been recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine after allegedly being duped by the promise of employment. The NIS findings were presented to lawmakers by parliamentary leader Kimani Ichung'wah on Wednesday.There has been a growing number of reports about men from African countries finding themselves on the frontlines in Ukraine after claims they had followed job opportunitiesImage: Andrew Kasuku/AP Photo/picture alliance Kenyans duped into fighting by job offers Ichung'wah accused Russian embassy officials of colluding with recruitment agencies and human trafficking syndicates to recruit Kenyans to fight in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, under the guise of being given employment. He said the Russian embassy officials issued them tourist visas. "So far over 1,000 Kenyans have been recruited and departed to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war," Ichung'wah said. Ichung'wah said that according to the NIS report, 89 Kenyans were on the front line, 39 were hospitalized, 28 were missing in action and at least one was confirmed dead. According to the report, recruiters targeted former soldiers and police officers, as well as unemployed people, with promises ​that they would earn around 350,000 shillings (€ 2,300, $2,715) per month and get bonuses of up to 1.2 million ​shillings ($9,309). In November, Kenya said that over 200 of its citizens were fighting for Russia, now with the NIS findings, the number is five times more than previously thought.African recruits fighting in Ukraine: Where's the AU?To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Moscow refutes allegations Moscow's embassy in Nairobi denied the allegations in a statement on Thursday saying that no visas were issued to anyone intending to travel to Russia to fight in Ukraine. The Russian embassy did however say that "the legislation of the Russian Federation does not preclude citizens of foreign countries from voluntarily enlisting in the armed forces.” Ukraine has previously said that hundreds of citizens from 36 African countries were fighting alongside Russian forces on its territory, with some recruited through deception.South Africans who fought for Russia return home On Wednesday, South Africa's Foreign Ministry announced that four South African men who had been lured into fighting for the Russian forces in Ukraine had returned home. This follows talks held by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on the return of South Africans caught up in the war in Ukraine. In November, Pretoria said it had received "distress calls" from 17 men who had been tricked into joining mercenary groups and were trapped in the epicenter of the fighting in Ukraine's Donbas region. South African law prohibits its citizens from fighting for a foreign army without government authorization.South Africans tricked into fighting Russia's war in UkraineTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko