Kenya secures deal with Russia to free citizens recruited to fight in Ukraine
Kenya has reached an agreement with Russia to release Kenyans recruited to fight in Ukraine, after months of talks, with its Moscow embassy already helping several citizens return home.
Kenya has secured an agreement with Russia to release its citizens who were recruited to fight in Ukraine, a move Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said comes after months of high-level talks aiming to protect the rights and safety of all Kenyans abroad.
In a statement, Mudavadi said the Kenyan mission in Moscow has already facilitated the return of several citizens and is working to identify others still detained.
“The Kenyan mission in Moscow is now trying to establish the exact number of citizens detained in military camps and has rescued several, facilitating their travel documents for safe return home,” Mudavadi said.
He urged all Kenyans visiting the region to register with the embassy and exercise their right to access consular services.
Mudavadi further stated that both governments have reached an agreement to release all those being held without their consent to Kenya’s embassy in Moscow “with immediate effect.”
He added that the embassy will continue to maintain contact with others still in captivity and provide support to those who manage to escape.
The crisis has emerged amid reports that over 1,000 citizens from at least 36 countries have been recruited to fight for the Russian army.
Across Africa, agents and recruitment firms are luring desperate job seekers with promises of well-paying work in Russia, only for them to end up in military camps and on the battlefields.
Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha, confirmed in a statement last month that at least 1,436 citizens from 36 African countries are currently fighting in the ranks of Russia’s invasion army in Ukraine. Sybiha noted that the number represents those identified, and the actual total could be higher.
“Russia recruits nationals of African countries using a variety of methods. Some are offered money, while others are duped and do not realise what they are signing up for, or are forced to do so under duress,” Sybiha said.
“Signing a contract is equivalent to signing a death sentence. Foreign citizens in the Russian army face a sad fate. Most of them are immediately sent to the so-called ‘meat assaults,’ where they are quickly killed.”
Sybiha appealed to African governments to issue public statements warning citizens against joining the Russian invasion army.
“The Russian command understands that there will be no accountability for the killed foreigner, so they are treated as second-rate, expendable human material. Most mercenaries do not survive more than a month,” he added.
Authorities in South Africa have charged five people, including a radio presenter, over a scheme recruiting men to the Russian military.
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