Kenya Says 1,000 of Its Citizens Are Fighting for Russia

As many as 1,000 Kenyans have been recruited to fight for Russia in its war against Ukraine, a development that threatens to spark a diplomatic rift.

The Kenyans were hired by “rogue agencies” offering civilians as well as ex-military and police personnel as much as 350,000 shillings ($2,715) a month to fight, Manikin Ichung’wah, the head of the East African country’s National Assembly, said in a speech to lawmakers distributed to the media on Thursday. They were also promised sign-on bonuses of as much as 1.2 million shillings and Russian citizenship, he said, citing a Kenyan intelligence report.