Almost everyday, a Kenyan man is dying while fighting for Russia in Ukraine. The latest to die on the frontline for Russia is Clinton Nyapara Mogesa. He was 28 years old. His body was discovered at one of the positions previously held by Russia forces in the Donetsk region in Ukraine.
Clinton had left Kenya to work in Qatar from where he was lured into Russia. Like most Kenyan young men who are dying in this war, Clinton had never worked as a security officer before, leave alone a military personnel. He had zero military training.
When he landed in Russsia, he was given brief military training, the basics if holding a gun and shooting, and was then sent to the frontline where he met his death.
After his death, Russian forces refused to evacuate his body. When Ukrainian forces found his body, he had two other Kenyan passports belonging to two other Kenyan men who had also been recruited to fight in the war.
For Russia, the young Kenyan men they are recruiting, and many others from different African countries, are disposable. Their vulnerability amd desperation to make money openly evident, the Russians send them to war as their frontline.
These Kenyans are the first to receive fire when things get thick. They act as a protective vest for the Russian forces.
In one video that was recently circulated online, Russian forces were seen recording Kenyan men in the warzones and mocking them in Russian languages, labeling them as fools who would die in the war.
In one video that was shared by Ukraine intelligence, a Russia soldier was captured on video bragging how Russia had so many disposable recruits from Africa.
“Behind their backs, he comments in Russian that they are essentially disposable cannon fodder,” Ukraine’s intelligence interpreted the message.
The Russian soldier went on to say:
“Look how many disposables are here. They’re even singing. So cheerful. No problem – once they’re sent to the assault, they’ll sing a different tune.”
In mid-January 2026, it was estimated that over 200 Kenyans are currently fighting for Russia in Ukraine.
One of these young men who spoke with the media narrated that he was lured to Russia with the promise of a job as a plumber. He was 24.
He recalled that after arriving in St Petersburg, Russia, from Nairobi, he was taken to a black house with other Kenyan men where their luggage was confiscated.
They were then given black clothes and shoes to wear before being transported to a military facility where they were given military identity cards.
They were then moved to another military camp in the city of Belgorod in the south-western Russia near the border with Ukraine. At this camp, they were given military uniforms and guns and sent to the frontline without any training. Their primary job in the early days was to shoot down Ukraine-weaponized drones.
As more young men return home in caskets, questions are being asked on how they are leaving the country in the first place.
Investigations point to elaborate networks that include local placement agencies which are luring unsuspecting Kenyans to the war under guise of employment.
New York Times: How President Ruto’s family, allies make profits from sending Kenyans to Saudi
As at February 1 2026, human rights group Vocal Africa was following up on at least 18 cases of Kenyan men who were either dead or missing. They had all been recruited to fight for Russia.
The official number of Kenyan men in the war has however remained a mystery as the national government has largely stayed vague on the matter, apart from giving promises that Kenyans in the war would all be brought back home.
In October 2025, Ukrainian military public affairs officer Volodymyr Dehtyarov revealed that over a dozen men from Africa had been killed in one month alone in the Kupyansk area in eastern Ukraine.
Overall, the Ukraine intelligence agencies estimates that more than 1,400 young men from Africa have been recruited by Russia.
