African governments are responding cautiously to reports that their citizens are being recruited into Russia’s military amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Kenya’s Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi is set to visit Russia this week as Nairobi faces growing pressure at home to persuade Moscow to halt the recruitment of Kenyan nationals. Families of those recruited are demanding stronger action from the government to bring their relatives back.
Recent reports have revealed the growing scale of African recruitment into Russia’s armed forces. Many individuals are reportedly lured through third-party networks that promise well-paid civilian jobs, only for recruits to find themselves involved in the conflict in Ukraine. The revelations have sparked concern in several African countries, including Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa.
Mudavadi said Kenya wants its citizens excluded from military recruitment. However, he stressed that the government intends to address the matter through dialogue rather than confrontation. He described Russia as a major power with which Kenya maintains longstanding relations and said cooperation would be needed to resolve the issue.
Russia’s defense ministry has not commented on the allegations. However, the Russian Foreign Ministry said upcoming talks between Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Mudavadi would focus on strengthening traditionally friendly relations between the two countries, including economic and trade partnerships.
Ukraine claims that more than 1,700 Africans are currently fighting alongside Russian forces, although analysts believe the actual number may be higher. According to Kenyan intelligence, more than 1,000 Kenyans alone may have been recruited, though officials say exact figures remain unclear.
Ghana has also raised concerns. Its foreign minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said more than 50 Ghanaian citizens have been killed in the war after being “lured into battle,” adding that the real number could be higher. While Ghana intends to maintain diplomatic relations with Russia, Ablakwa warned that the government would act if its citizens were harmed or deceived.
South Africa, which has close ties with Moscow, is investigating cases in which its citizens may have been misled into joining the conflict. Officials say the investigation will examine whether recruitment networks linked to Russian mercenary groups were involved.
A report by Geneva-based organization Inpact identified more than 1,400 African recruits from multiple countries, including Cameroon, Egypt, and Ghana. Researchers believe these figures may represent only a fraction of the total number involved.
Experts say many African governments are reluctant to escalate the issue publicly, partly to avoid taking sides in the Russia-Ukraine war. Analysts also point out that economic hardship in many African countries may be pushing some individuals to seek risky opportunities abroad.
However, Ghana has called for a collective African response, arguing that the recruitment of citizens into foreign wars through deception or exploitation is a problem that affects the entire continent.