"Africans are not commodities": Amnesty tells leaders to confront Russia

Families of Kenyans allegedly recruited to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine hold photographs of missing relatives during a protest in Nairobi on March 5, 2026, demanding answers and government action to bring them home. [File,Standard]

Amnesty International has urged African leaders attending the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow to demand an end to the recruitment of Africans to fight in Ukraine.

In an open letter dated Tuesday, October 27, directors of Amnesty International sections across Africa called on participating governments to press Russia to suspend recruitment of Africans and other foreign nationals until safeguards against human trafficking are in place.

The appeal comes a day after a United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine reported finding compelling evidence that Russian authorities had trafficked people from 29 countries into the Russian armed forces through deception and coercion.

The commission said recruitment agents operating across different countries presented themselves as legitimate businesses, with some recruits forced to sign military contracts in Russian.

The issue has direct implications for Kenya. Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi told Parliament on October 8 that the government had records of 354 Kenyans connected to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, including 84 classified as killed or missing in action.

Government records showed that 77 Kenyans remained on the frontline, 38 were in military camps and 52 had unknown or unclassified whereabouts.

Another 34 were hospitalised, 62 had been repatriated and five were prisoners of war in Ukraine.

Mudavadi said Kenya had secured its inclusion on Russia’s military recruitment “stop list” during his visit to Moscow in March.

The Kenyan Embassy in Moscow reported no additional enlistments after the measure took effect.

President William Ruto is attending the summit alongside Mudavadi and other senior government officials.

Ruto is seeking new export markets and investment opportunities in Russia, including access for Kenyan tea, coffee, flowers and fresh produce.

His visit comes as families of Kenyans recruited to fight in Ukraine seek answers about relatives who have died, gone missing or remain on the frontline.

“For African leaders to remain silent on this issue would be a profound disservice to the people of their countries. We urge them to address this issue directly with the Russian authorities at the Russia-Africa Summit 2026 and call on Russia to take immediate steps to end these practices, which in many cases amount to trafficking, a crime under international law,” the Amnesty directors noted.

The summit runs from Wednesday, October 28, to Thursday, October 29, in Moscow.

In February, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha estimated that more than 1,780 Africans from 36 countries were fighting for Russia.

The figure was an estimate from Ukrainian officials. Russia has denied illegally recruiting African citizens to fight in Ukraine.

 Amnesty wants African governments to demand investigations and prosecutions of people involved in trafficking recruits, including Russian state officials and others operating with the authorities’ consent.

It also called for an end to the use of detention, deportation and other penalties to pressure migrants and refugees into military service.

The organisation further wants Russia to allow foreign nationals who choose to leave its military to do so without threats or punishment and ensure their safe departure from the frontline.

In a briefing published on September 10, Amnesty documented cases in which African nationals and other people from the Global South were lured to Russia with promises of well-paid civilian jobs and the prospect of citizenship, only to be deployed to fight in Ukraine.

Some recruits reported having their passports confiscated, being restricted from moving freely and receiving little or no military training before deployment.

The directors argued that African governments should challenge these practices as they push for sovereignty and greater influence in international affairs.

“At a moment when many African governments are speaking up about the enduring legacy of colonialism, and the importance of sovereignty and African agency in international affairs, they must reject any practice that treats nationals of African countries as a commodity for other countries’ political and military objectives,” the directors said.

The letter was signed by directors from Amnesty International sections in Nigeria, Togo, Sierra Leone, Tunisia, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and Côte d’Ivoire, including George Morara, Executive Director of Amnesty International Kenya.