More than 1,000 Kenyans have gone to Russia only to end up fighting in the Russo-Ukrainian war, many of them unaware that such a fate awaited them, according to an intelligence report presented to members of parliament in the East African country.

Several media outlets, including AFP, have recently shown how hundreds of Kenyan men, often with no military background, found themselves, once they arrived in Russia, forced to sign a contract with the Russian army and were quickly sent to the front in Ukraine, where many of them perished.

"To date, more than 1,000 Kenyans have been recruited and have gone to fight in the Russo-Ukrainian war," MP Kimani Ichung'wah told the Kenyan parliament on Tuesday, saying he was basing his statement on a joint report from the intelligence services and the criminal investigations directorate.

This figure is much higher than the 200 Kenyans mentioned so far by the authorities.

The recruits are leaving the country on tourist visas to join the Russian army via Istanbul (Turkey) and Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), he explained, adding that some are now transiting through Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Africa to avoid checks. Kenyans working abroad have also traveled to Russia from their countries of resettlement, the MP added.

Many of them were forced to sign military contracts, he explained.

According to a February count, 28 recruits are missing, 35 are deployed in camps or military bases, 89 are deployed on the front line, and 39 are hospitalized, Mr. Ichung'wah reported. 30 Kenyans have been repatriated.

The MP described how recruitment agencies collaborate with corrupt employees at Nairobi airport, as well as national employment services, employees of the Russian embassy in Nairobi and the Kenyan embassy in Moscow.

In an investigation published last week, AFP was able to speak to four Kenyans who had returned from Russia, three of whom were wounded in the fighting in Ukraine. One went there believing he would become a salesman, two others hoping to be security guards, and the fourth a high-level athlete.

They had all been promised salaries ranging from 920 to 2,400 euros per month in Russia by a recruitment agency in Nairobi. A fortune in Kenya, where many workers earn barely 100 euros a month.

Uganda and South Africa are among the other African countries targeted for recruitment, while Russia is suffering heavy losses in Ukraine.

Kenyan Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi is scheduled to visit Moscow next month. Her government has condemned the use of its citizens as "cannon fodder".

AFP