{"id":131613,"date":"2026-02-20T18:02:45","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T18:02:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/kenya-presses-russia-for-unimpeded-access-to-citizens-caught-in-ukraine-war\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T18:02:45","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T18:02:45","slug":"kenya-presses-russia-for-unimpeded-access-to-citizens-caught-in-ukraine-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/kenya-presses-russia-for-unimpeded-access-to-citizens-caught-in-ukraine-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenya presses Russia for \u2018unimpeded access\u2019 to citizens caught in Ukraine war"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 20 \u2014 Kenya has called for \u201cunimpeded consular access\u201d to its citizens caught up in the Russia\u2013Ukraine war and demanded clear, transparent protocols for the repatriation of prisoners of war and the remains of those killed in the conflict.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a statement on Friday, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing\u2019Oei said he raised the issue during talks with Russian Ambassador to Kenya Vsevolod Tkachenko, amid growing concern over reports that Kenyans have been recruited or are participating in the conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring our talks, I conveyed the Government\u2019s grave concern regarding Kenyan nationals currently caught up in the Russia\u2013Ukraine conflict,\u201d Sing\u2019Oei said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI called for unimpeded consular access to our citizens and sought clear, transparent protocols regarding the repatriation of both prisoners of war and the remains of the deceased.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sing\u2019Oei emphasized that Kenya\u2019s priority remains \u201cthe safety and dignity of every Kenyan abroad\u201d and welcomed cooperation from the Russian Embassy in preventing illegal recruitment of Kenyan nationals.<\/p>\n

\n27 Kenyans conscripted into Russia-Ukraine war rescued and repatriated: Mudavadi<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

The meeting comes ahead of the Prime Cabinet Secretary\u2019s planned official visit to Moscow in March, where bilateral relations and emerging security concerns are expected to feature prominently.<\/p>\n

The diplomatic engagement follows a statement issued Thursday by the Russian Embassy in Nairobi rejecting allegations that it has recruited Kenyan citizens to fight in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

The embassy described such claims as a \u201cdangerous and misleading propaganda campaign,\u201d expressing concern over what it termed misinformation circulating in Kenya\u2019s media and public discourse.<\/p>\n

Denial<\/h2>\n

It denied issuing visas to Kenyan citizens intending to participate in the war or colluding with recruitment networks.<\/p>\n

However, the embassy acknowledged that Russian law allows foreign nationals legally residing in Russia to voluntarily enlist in its armed forces.<\/p>\n

It also expressed readiness to engage in \u201cconstructive and depoliticized dialogue\u201d with Kenyan authorities and called for the expedited conclusion of bilateral agreements on labour migration, travel, and security cooperation.<\/p>\n

\nRussian Embassy denies recruiting Kenyans for Ukraine war amid NIS findings<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

The row follows explosive findings by Kenya\u2019s National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), which uncovered what investigators described as an extensive network facilitating the recruitment and trafficking of Kenyans into the war.<\/p>\n

Presenting the findings before the National Assembly, Majority Leader Kimani Ichung\u2019wah alleged that rogue officials within the Directorate of Immigration Services, the DCI, and the National Employment Authority enabled recruits to travel undetected through airports.<\/p>\n

According to the report, more than 1,000 Kenyans may have been recruited, many lured by promises of lucrative salaries, signing bonuses, and foreign citizenship.<\/p>\n

Some recruits were reportedly promised monthly pay of up to Sh350,000 and signing bonuses ranging from Sh900,000 to Sh1.2 million, only to be deployed to frontline combat zones after minimal training.<\/p>\n

Kenya has intensified diplomatic and security efforts to investigate recruitment networks and protect vulnerable citizens, amid growing international scrutiny over the use of foreign fighters in the protracted conflict.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 20 \u2014 Kenya has called for \u201cunimpeded consular access\u201d to its citizens caught up in the Russia\u2013Ukraine war and demanded clear, transparent protocols for the repatriation of prisoners of war and the remains of those killed in the conflict. In a statement on Friday, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing\u2019Oei said he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131613\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}