The Russian Orthodox Church is helping lure Kenyans into the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine
The Russian Orthodox Church’s exarchate in Africa is involved in a scheme recruiting Kenyan citizens to fight in Ukraine, according to journalist Ksenia Luchenko, who covers the Russian Orthodox Church, and the independent investigative outlet iStories, which highlighted a mid-February report by Religion News Service.
According to the human rights group Vocal Africa, priests affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church have been urging young Kenyans to travel to Russia for work, offering to cover their travel expenses. Kenyan citizens are then brought to Russia on tourist visas and promised monthly salaries of 350,000 to 400,000 Kenyan shillings — roughly $3,000. In reality, rights advocates say, they never receive the money.
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Once in Russia, their documents are confiscated. Bank accounts are opened in their names but controlled by commanders, after which they are sent to the front.
A representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Nairobi, speaking anonymously to Religion News Service, said Kenyans are sent to Russia not to fight but to study in a seminary — though they are warned of the possibility of military recruitment. He insisted that the Church can account for every student it has sent to Russia and that “not one of them has joined the army.”
Kenya’s National Intelligence Service has said that more than 1,000 Kenyans have been recruited into the Russian army to take part in the war against Ukraine. According to the agency’s estimates, 89 Kenyan citizens were on the front lines as of early 2026.
In late February, iStories reported that Russian authorities had compiled a list of at least 36 countries from which recruitment of mercenaries for the war in Ukraine is now prohibited. Copies of the alleged stop-list circulated online include countries from across Africa and the Middle East, along with nations Russian considers “friendly,” such as China, India, Brazil, Turkey, Cuba, Venezuela, and Argentina.
In November 2025, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha reported that more than 1,400 individuals from 36 African nations are fighting for Russia in Ukraine. “The number represents those identified, though the actual number could be higher,” he wrote on X.
The total number of foreign nationals within Russia’s ranks remains unknown. According to Ukrainian officials, Kyiv has identified at least 18,000 foreign citizens fighting on the Russian side, and currently holds prisoners of war from 37 different countries.
