Mar. 17 — Russia will no longer allow Kenyans to join the Russian army — they will no longer be eligible to fight in the war against Ukraine, Kenyan Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi said after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, reported Reuters.

More than 1,000 Kenyans have been recruited to fight, attracted by monthly salaries of several thousand dollars and bonuses of more than $6,000 for contract soldiers, said Reuters, citing Kenyan officials.

“We agreed that the Russian Ministry of Defense would no longer recruit Kenyans — they will no longer be eligible for military service,” said Mudavadi.

Mudavadi added that Kenyans who have already applied and need help will get it through the appropriate diplomatic channels.

At the same time, Lavrov said that Kenyans had voluntarily signed contracts to ‌fight in the Russian army. Kenyan politicians, Reuters writes, have described “a network of rogue state officials” who have colluded with “human trafficking syndicates” to recruit Kenyans to fight for Russia ⁠in Ukraine.

In autumn 2025, Ukrainian forces captured a Kenyan citizen on the Vovchansk axis, who said that Russians tricked him into joining the army. He said they forced him to sign the documents written in Russian, which he did not understand.

In February, Kenyan intelligence said that Russia had recruited more than 1,000 citizens of Kenya to fight in its invasion of Ukraine.

According to Reuters, Ukrainian officials said that over 1,700 Kenyan people are fighting on the Russian side.

Before the meeting in Moscow, Mudavadi told the BBC that 27 Kenyans recruited by Russia had returned home. The Kenyan government provided them with psychological help to “de-radicalise” them. 

Mudavi also said he doesn’t want Kenya’s relationships with Russia to be defined through the lense of Russia-Ukraine war, which he called like Russia does, “special operation.” He said the countries could boost cooperation in energy, agriculture, and tourism.  

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