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Kenya on Tuesday condemned as “unacceptable” recruiters luring Kenyans to Russia with promises of lucrative jobs, only to send them to Ukraine’s front lines as “cannon fodder”.
In recent weeks, mounting reports indicate that Kenyans deceived into travelling for high-paying work in Russia are dying on the battlefield, with others sustaining serious wounds.
An AFP investigation published this week revealed the web of deception into which four men with no military background fell – forced to sign contracts with the Russian army and swiftly sent to the front lines in Ukraine.
Russia lures Kenyans into fighting in Ukraine war
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“It’s unacceptable for them to be participants in this conflict,” junior foreign minister Korir Sing’Oei said.
The four, three of whom returned wounded, were given contracts written in Russian.
One had expected to work as a salesman, two as security guards and the fourth as a high-level athlete.
“These individuals are used as cannon fodder on the war front,” Sing’Oei said.
“No Kenyan would voluntarily enter into that kind of engagement.”
Families of Kenyans lured into Russia-Ukraine war seek state help for repatriation
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Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi announced he would travel to Moscow for talks aimed at “conclusively resolving the matter and identifying sustainable solutions”.
“We have seen loss of lives, and I am planning to make a visit to Moscow so that we can emphasise that this is something that needs to be arrested,” Mudavadi said in a statement to the media.
He said he would also pursue the release of Kenyans held as prisoners of war in Ukraine and “verify” the condition of those hospitalised.
Mudavadi said more than 30 Kenyans had been evacuated from Russia over the past two months and unscrupulous recruitment agencies in the east African country had been shut down.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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