Kenyan military personnel. Image: Staff Sgt. Nic Raven/US Air Force

Kenyans have been “lured” by recruiters into fighting for Russia in Ukraine, the Kenyan foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Many have ended up detained in military camps across Russia, said the statement signed by Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi.

It did not give any numbers for the recruits, nor how many had been detained or hurt.

The foreign ministry said it held a “crucial meeting” last month with Russian officials to help secure their release and repatriation.

Kenyans are being “lured by… corrupt and ruthless agents to travel to Russia and unknowingly find themselves in the Russian military operation,” Kenya’s foreign ministry said.

“The system has been made complicated by the agents who masquerade as working with the Russian Government and use unscrupulous methods including falsified information to lure innocent Kenyans into the battlefield,” it added.

Russia has been repeatedly accused of deceiving citizens from poor countries into signing contracts with its military, written in Russian, which they do not understand.

There is widespread poverty in Kenya and minimal job opportunities.

Local media have reported on Russian recruitment networks targeting poor young men, with many claiming they were tricked or pressured into fighting once they arrived.

This week, The Nation newspaper interviewed a former Kenyan soldier who voluntarily joined a Russian mercenary force.

The foreign ministry said Kenya was still committed to signing a labour agreement with Russia aimed at giving Kenyans access to “genuine job opportunities in Russia.” The Defense Post