Putin Agrees to Stop Recruitment of Kenyans into Russian Military

Kenyans will no longer be enlisted into the Russian military following an agreement reached between President William Ruto and his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow.

“Held talks with President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation at the Kremlin, Moscow, after the conclusion of the Russia-Africa Summit,” Ruto said in a subsequent statement.

“Thanked President Putin for confirming that Kenyans will no longer be enlisted into the Russian military because Kenya has been categorised a non-source country for recruitment into the Russian military.”

President Ruto further noted that he has appointed a Defence Attache at the Kenya Embassy in Moscow, who will liaise with the Russian Ministry of Defence in processing the return of Kenyans who were in Russia for military purposes.

He added that the Defence Attache will work with the Russian Ministry of Defence to process compensation for Kenyans and to assist in their safe return home.

“We also agreed that our two governments would negotiate a bilateral labour agreement that would allow Kenyans to live and work in Russia. In recognition of the deepening ties between our two countries, I invited President Putin to visit Kenya.”

The two countries further agreed to establish a joint commission to strengthen bilateral cooperation and coordinate the implementation of agreements between the governments.

The commission will be co-chaired by representatives of both countries, with Russia represented by a federal minister or deputy minister.

Kenya's delegation will be led by Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.

The findings come as African governments meet Russia to discuss expanded cooperation in trade, investment, security and other sectors.

Despite the scale of the recruitment of African citizens into Russia’s war against Ukraine, the issue has not featured on the Russia-Africa summit's programme or in remarks delivered by participating heads of state and government.

African governments have largely pursued bilateral diplomacy with Moscow rather than coordinated action to secure the return of their citizens or hold the recruitment networks accountable.

An estimated 841 Kenyans were recruited into Russia’s war against Ukraine between May 2025 and February 2026, making the country the largest documented source of African fighters in a recruitment network that has generated more than Sh6.5 billion in fees for agencies, brokers and intermediaries across the continent.

An investigative report by Journalists For Justice (JFJ), titled "The Death Contract", identifies at least 3,034 African nationals from 40 countries who have been enlisted into Russia's armed forces since October 2022. At least 502 of them had been documented as killed in action by the end of June 2026, although the report warns that the actual figures could be higher.

Kenya had the largest contingent among the recruits, with 841 documented cases during the period under investigation. Of these, 500 were found to have been recruited through Global Face Human Resources Limited, a Kenyan recruitment agency at the centre of the investigation.

The 841 cases are, however, notably lower than figures cited in other government reports, which have placed the number of Kenyans recruited to fight for Russia at more than 1,000.