Kenya says more than 200 of its nationals are fighting for Russia in Ukraine, with recruitment networks still operating in both Africa and Russia, according to a statement issued on 12 November by Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as reported by Reuters.

The announcement followed a statement from Ukraine last week claiming that over 1,400 citizens from three dozen African countries are currently fighting on Russia’s side. Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andriy Sybiha, described the contracts offered to African recruits as “equivalent to ... a death sentence,” and called on African governments to warn their citizens.

Nairobi confirms citizens misled into joining war

The Kenyan Foreign Ministry said its citizens are being recruited into Moscow’s war effort through networks active both in Russia and in Kenya, Reuters reported. According to the statement, “over two hundred Kenyans may have joined the Russian military,” with officials warning that recruitment activities are still ongoing.

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The Ministry added that its embassy in Moscow had recorded injuries among some of the Kenyan recruits. Those injured had allegedly been promised up to $18,000, covering visa costs, travel, and accommodation. But instead of receiving non-combat roles, they were deployed to the battlefield.

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21 rescued in Kenyan raid tied to recruitment ring

Kenyan security services conducted a raid near Nairobi in September that resulted in the rescue of 21 citizens who, according to the foreign ministry, were being prepared for deployment to Ukraine. The ministry said the individuals had been deceived about the nature of their roles.

Seventeen South African men are stranded in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine after being misled into joining mercenary forces, according to the country's official statement. President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered an investigation into how the group was recruited under false pretenses and drawn into “seemingly mercenary activities” in the war zone. In August, South African authorities warned young citizens to be cautious about job offers in Russia that were circulating on social media. 

South Africa continues to present itself as non-aligned in the war, maintaining ties with both Kyiv and Moscow. Ramaphosa has met with leaders from both countries. However, the country has close relationships with Russia through the BRICS alliance.

South Africans misled by fake job offers now trapped in Donbas

South Africa’s presidency said in a statement that all 17 men, aged between 20 and 39, were "lured to join mercenary forces involved in the Ukraine-Russia war under the pretext of lucrative employment contracts." The men are currently "trapped in the war-torn Donbas" in eastern Ukraine.

The statement said the South African government is now working to repatriate them.

“President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the recruitment of these young men into these seemingly mercenary activities,” the presidency said.

It did not state which side the men were fighting for. Reuters says Ramaphosa's spokesperson added,

“We don't know yet, hence the investigation.”

Ostensibly without knowing whether they were fighting for Moscow or Kyiv, Pretoria is “working through diplomatic channels to secure the return of these young men following their calls for assistance to return home,” the statement reads.

Under South African law, it is illegal for citizens to participate in foreign armies or provide military assistance to foreign governments without authorization. The investigation aims to determine how these men ended up violating those provisions and whether criminal recruitment networks were involved.

Other foreigners caught by Russia in similar recruitment schemes

• Last month, Kenya’s foreign ministry reported that some of its citizens had also been deceived and were being held in Russian military camps. 
• India and Nepal have also reported that scores of their citizens were recruited to support Russia’s war under similarly false premises.
• Earlier, BBC identified 523 foreign mercenaries from 28 countries killed fighting for Russia in Ukraine. The killed mercenaries, identified by BBC, include Egyptians, Americans, Gurkhas, Central Asian convicts, and recruits from several African countries.
• The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime earlier stated that women from more than 20 African countries had been recruited under false pretenses to make drones for Russia. An AP investigation found last year that hundreds of African women were duped into working at Russia's Shahed drone factory in Tatarstan's Alabuga. 

Russia is aggressively recruiting hundreds of mercenaries from economically distressed Arab and Muslim-majority nations, including Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Algeria, and beyond, to fight in Ukraine, using social media platforms like TikTok to promise massive salaries and expedited Russian citizenship. However, many of these recruits, lured by offers far exceeding what they could earn at home, report being deceived about their roles and thrust onto the most dangerous front lines with little training, according to multiple media investigations and family accounts.

Russia's strategy targets global economic desperation to fill frontline gaps, sourcing fighters who, if killed, will not spark domestic political backlash or require the official compensation given to Russian soldiers.

From TikTok to the trenches

The path from the Middle East to the Ukrainian front often begins with a social media post. For 24-year-old Mohammed Imad from Iraq, his final post on TikTok in May showed him in military fatigues with smoke rising in the background, captioned "Pray for me," as reported by The Arab Weekly. His family has not heard from him since, joining a growing number of Iraqi families searching for sons who were lured to Russia by promises of wealth.

Recruiters, operating on TikTok and Telegram, target young men in countries with high unemployment, like Iraq where one in three youths is jobless. These online influencers promote a package that seems irresistible: a monthly salary of $2,800—more than four times an Iraqi soldier's pay—and signing bonuses as high as $20,000, according to the Weekly's investigation.

A mix of money and faith

The primary incentives are economic, but recruiters also leverage propaganda. One online post declared, "Give me an Iraqi soldier and a Russian weapon, and we will liberate the world from Western colonialism," the Weekly found.

For those who enlist, the promise of expedited Russian citizenship for themselves and their families is a powerful draw, as reported by Netherlands-based analytical outlet Platform RAAM. Recruiters typically assure new volunteers they will have non-combat support roles, like cooking or driving, but in reality, almost all end up on the front lines, the outlet found.

This state-backed system, which includes officials from Russia's Foreign Ministry, processes volunteers on business visas and has them sign military contracts upon arrival.

A new, strategic element of this recruitment appears to be the integration of these Muslim fighters under Chechen command. Abbas al-Munaser, a 27-year-old Iraqi who joined the Russian army in 2024, confirmed in a post that he was fighting under a "Muslim Chechen commander," according to The Arab Weekly.

This approach suggests a Russian strategy of using a shared religious identity to manage and motivate its new foreign legion, leveraging the reputation of forces led by Ramzan Kadyrov, the Head of the Chechen Republic, whose predominantly Muslim units are already active in the war.

“There is death here”

Despite the slick recruiting, the reality on the ground is grim. Al-Munaser, who posts about his experiences, warned other Iraqis: "There is death here." He described what he had seen in Ukraine as "a war of advanced technology, a war of drones," unlike the wars they had known in Iraq.

The deception is a common theme. Many recruits are promised non-combat roles like drivers or kitchen staff, but upon arrival, they are given minimal training and sent to the front, an investigation by The Insider found. Some are deployed in "meat grinder" assaults—waves of soldiers sent to attack positions without armored support.

When these foreign fighters are killed, their families often face a bureaucratic nightmare, receiving no official word. This disposable nature of foreign troops is a key strategic benefit for Moscow. "If a foreigner dies, there are no social payouts and no responsibility; there are no relatives inside Russia who are unhappy with the war; and of course, fewer dead Russians,” said Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR), as reported by TVP World.

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Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (SBS) announced on 31 October 2025 that they are opening 15,000 new positions, half of which are available for specialists from civilian life.

Drone forces expanding recruitment

Major Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, SBS commander of Ukraine, said the drone units currently make up just 2% of the military but account for 35% of verified strikes against Russian targets. He described the force as a “system that works” and announced its expansion. Brovdi declared that drones are now “waiting for pilots, not the other way around,” urging Ukrainians to join one of the twelve SBS units.

He announced over 15,000 vacancies, emphasizing that many are suited for people with skills from civilian life, such as electronics, programming, construction, or project management. “It is time to scale the system,” Brovdi said in his recruitment video, highlighting that the goal is to increase the SBS share within the Defense Forces from 2% to 5%.

According to Army Inform, the SBS is credited with causing roughly one-third of all verified Russian losses. Brovdi stated that the force has “buried every third Russian worm” and vowed that soon it would be “every second.” 

The Kenyan government said Monday that Russian agents used deceptive methods, including falsified information, to lure Kenyan citizens into military service in Ukraine. Some victims unknowingly found themselves in Russian military operations after being promised legitimate jobs.

The Kenyan case reflects a wider pattern of Russian recruitment targeting foreign nationals. Similar schemes have reportedly involved recruits from more than 20 countries, with some forced into military service under coercion.

Kenya has engaged the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and reached an agreement for citizens held without their consent to be released to Kenya’s mission in Moscow. Several nationals have already been rescued, with emergency travel documents issued to facilitate their safe return home. 

The mission is working to establish the total number of Kenyans detained in military camps and to assist those who manage to leave voluntarily.

The government said agents masquerade as Russian officials and urged immigration and security agencies to strengthen vigilance at border points, particularly airports, to prevent further recruitment. 

“Kenya expressed its concern that its young citizens continue to be lured by such corrupt and ruthless agents to travel to Russia and unknowingly find themselves in the Russian military operation,” the statement from the Kenyan Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Ministry of Foreign & Diaspora Affairs reads.

The office said Kenya remains committed to strengthening bilateral relations with Russia, including negotiating a Bilateral Labour Agreement to provide legitimate employment opportunities for its citizens abroad.

Russian recruitment network promises fake jobs

The announcement follows a September intelligence-led operation in Nairobi, where police rescued 22 Kenyans awaiting processing to Russia. 

Authorities arrested Edward Kamau Gituku, accused of coordinating the recruitment, and seized materials showing victims had signed agreements to pay between $13,000 and $18,000 for visas, travel, and accommodation. 

His defense team claimed the company had already facilitated the travel of more than 1,000 Kenyans to Russia, according to local media reports.

Ukrainian forces captured Kenyan athlete Evans Kibet in September after he fought alongside Russian troops in Kharkiv Oblast. Kibet said a sports agent offered him a tourist trip to Saint Petersburg before pressuring him to sign documents in Russian that turned out to be military contracts. 

"I didn't know it was a military job. He told me to sign and took my passport and phone, and that is how everything went wrong," Kibet said in a video interview with Ukrainian forces. When he tried to refuse military service, recruiters told him he would either fight or be killed. 

Russia has recruited citizens from at least 21 countries - from Nepal to Cuba - through similar deceptive schemes, with BBC confirming 523 foreign mercenaries from 28 countries killed since the invasion began.