Ukraine has expressed alarm over reports of Kenyan nationals fighting alongside Russian troops, warning that Moscow is using deceptive overseas job offers to lure African youth into a war they barely understand.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now in its fourth year, has redrawn global alliances and created new moral questions for countries far from the battlefield. For Kenya—a nation that has largely stayed neutral in the conflict—the reports of its citizens fighting for Moscow touch on deeper issues of unemployment, desperation, and the global reach of online recruitment networks that prey on economic hardship.
In an exclusive interview with the Nation, Ukraine’s ambassador to Kenya, Yurii Tokar, confirmed that one Kenyan fighter is currently in Ukrainian custody, having been captured while serving with Russian forces.
The envoy said the man, now considered a Prisoner of War (POW), admitted to entering Russia as a tourist before being tricked into signing a military contract.
“The POW himself confessed that he was deceived into joining the Russian army,” Ambassador Tokar
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