Kenyan Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi announced on Monday in Moscow that Nairobi and Moscow have reached an agreement to end the practice of recruiting Kenyans into the Russian army. Following talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Mudavadi stated that both sides agreed to collaborate on stopping this activity and to develop a plan for repatriating Kenyans who were lured to Russia under false pretenses.
Mudavadi emphasized that approximately 1,000 Kenyans were enticed to Russia with promises of well-paid civilian jobs, only to find themselves forcibly conscripted to participate in what Moscow terms its "special military operation" in Ukraine. This issue sparked national outcry in Kenya after an intelligence report presented to parliament in February estimated that 1,000 Kenyans were fighting on behalf of Russia, five times higher than previous official estimates.
Kenya's Deputy Foreign Minister Abraham Korir Sing’Oei condemned the practice as "unacceptable," accusing Russia of using Kenyans as "cannon fodder." Lavrov, for his part, claimed that Kenyans in the Russian military had joined voluntarily but expressed support for the new measures. Mudavadi also noted that "the relationship between Kenya and Russia is much broader" than this single topic, assuring that other areas of cooperation would remain unaffected.
Russia has increasingly turned to foreign recruitment to bolster its war efforts in Ukraine, leading to similar incidents involving citizens from other countries. Earlier this year, South Africa repatriated 15 of its citizens trapped in the Donbas region after being deceived, and Nepal halted the issuance of work permits for Russia in 2024.
Additionally, tens of thousands of North Koreans are reportedly fighting for Russia in Ukraine, with U.S. and British media alleging that many are kept in slavery-like conditions by the Russian military. These cases highlight the broader challenges and geopolitical costs associated with Russia's reliance on foreign recruits amid the ongoing conflict.
Source: www.dw.com