Of Russia war strategy and Kenyans who want nothing to do with it but to come back

Eighty-two Kenyans lured into the Russian war against Ukraine and serving on the frontlines have linked up with Kenya’s Mission in Moscow, The Standard has learnt.

Of the 82, four have been assisted through mutual efforts between the embassy and their families back home and are now in the country.

The men, forced to be soldiers despite their protests — some of them confirming to The Standard they had no military training — made frantic efforts to contact the embassy after realising that they had been duped and would now serve on the war frontline.

They were spread across four Russian military camps: Belgorod–Selo Novaya Tavolzhanka, the Istra Wagner military base, the St Petersburg base, and the Rostov-on-Don camp.

A high-placed source at Kenya’s Mission in Moscow told The Standard that even before the story of Kenyans trapped in Russia broke on October 27, the Department of Diaspora Affairs had already begun the process of seeking out Kenyans forced into war to help them return home.

“The Mission rescued several Kenyans from those held at military bases and facilitated emergency travel documents to ensure their safe return back to their families,” said Prime Cabinet Secretary and CS for Foreign Affairs Musalia Mudavadi in response to The Standard exposé.

He added: “The governments of Kenya and Russia have also reached an agreement that those being held without their consent should be released to our Mission in Moscow with immediate effect.”

One of the returnees, who has given his story to The Standard and whose identity we continue to protect, yesterday said eighty is a small number because, in his knowledge, Kenyans who have been forced onto the war front range in hundreds.

“Our group alone, when we were taken to Russia in July, had 80 people. We all went. And there were other groups,” said Javan (not his real name).

Battle for Kharkiv

The Standard has learnt that the Belgorod–Selo Novaya Tavolzhanka camp lies 700 kilometres southwest of Moscow. By August, the camp was holding twenty Kenyans. It is situated close to Russia’s border with Ukraine, about a ten-hour drive to Kharkiv — Ukraine’s second-largest city, which Russian strongman Vladimir Putin has tried, with little success, to take control of.

Ukrainian forces repelled Russian troops from the city in the early days of the 2022 full-scale invasion and have continued to hold it. Although Russia still occupies parts of the surrounding Kharkiv province, Ukrainian control of the city remains firm despite ongoing, intense Russian shelling.

At the Istra Wagner military base, which lies 80 kilometres from Moscow, the embassy has identified 29 Kenyans. Two Kenyans from this camp were linked to their families back home and returned.

The base is reported to have been one of the main bases of the private military group Wagner, which was led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who attempted a coup against Putin in May 2023. He later died in a plane crash in the Tver region of Russia, which killed ten others on board in August 2023.

From one of the many military camps in St Petersburg, which lies 700 kilometres northwest of Moscow, the embassy identified 26 Kenyans, two of whom were brought back home.

The camp furthest from Moscow was the Rostov-on-Don camp, about 1,000 kilometres away, in Ukrainian territory now claimed by Russia. That camp was holding two Kenyans who got into contact with Kenya’s Mission in Russia

Russia’s Methods of War

Russia has disproportionately used ethnic minorities from within its territories and foreign nationals (mercenaries) on the frontline of its war in Ukraine, leading to exceptionally high casualty rates among these groups, Al Jazeera reported in late 2022.

The Standard earlier spoke to representatives of non-Russian ethnicities living in the United States and reported how ethnic minority communities in Russia, such as the Buryats, Tuvans, and Kalmyks, have been recruited and mobilised into the armed forces at significantly higher rates compared to ethnic Russians — especially those from major cities like Moscow and St Petersburg.

Data on casualties indicates that regions with large ethnic minority populations are overrepresented in per capita death tolls, leading to accusations that the Kremlin is using them as “cannon fodder” to minimise political backlash among the ethnic Russian majority.

The high recruitment rates in these regions are often linked to economic inequality, as military service offers comparatively high pay and benefits, making it an attractive option in poorer areas.

Russia has actively recruited foreign fighters from countries in South Asia (Nepal, India, Sri Lanka), Africa (DRC, Uganda, etc.), and former Soviet republics, often through deceptive promises of high salaries, jobs, or Russian citizenship.

Many foreign nationals reported being tricked — they were promised non-combat roles (like security guards or logistics personnel) but were quickly sent to the most dangerous frontline positions after minimal training.

Reports indicate that some migrants or students in Russia on work visas have been detained and forced to choose between deportation or signing a military contract to fight in Ukraine.