Government Responds to Kenyans Recruited for Russia-Ukraine War - February 2026

The Kenyan government has announced an expansion of diplomatic efforts to secure the release of its citizens who were irregularly recruited to serve in the Russia-Ukraine war. Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi confirmed the government has repatriated nearly 20 Kenyans lured into the war through fake job scams. This follows the recovery of three Kenyan bodies from eastern Ukraine on February 6, 2026. Meanwhile, fourteen families of Kenyans who traveled to Russia for promised jobs gathered at Jevanjee Gardens in Nairobi to demand answers from the government. These families shared accounts of relatives who left Kenya between October and November of the previous year and with whom communication has since ceased.